First Love
by Pheria
Summary: A story about Gwendal and Anissina's relationship.
1. Chapter 1 : Our Parents

**Hi!! **

**This fic you're about to read is about Gwendal and Anissina relationship. For this chapter, it is about Gwendal's past. I hope you will like it.**

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Gwendal was really young that time. He was only ten years old. Like a ten years old human boy- mazoku ages slower than human after they reach ten years old-, he liked to practice sword with his father. His father was not a cheerful man, even his mother didn't dare to speak too much to him. Gwendal knew that his father and mother were forced to get married because of their family matter. His parents never had a fight, but they had never shown a real love to each other in front of the people, including Gwendal. Gwendal was sure that his father and mother never loved each other like a husband and wife should be.

His mother loved him very much. Though he didn't grow up like she wanted him to be. Gwendal became more like his father as he grew up. When he was still a kid, his mother said, he was adorable. Little Gwendal laughed all day just because of a bear bee doll. But, when Gwendal started to learn sword, he started to behave like his father did. He smiled less and frowned more.

Gwendal never really had time with his father. Because the man was so quiet and Gwendal was too scared to talk to him if his father didn't talk to him first. The only time Gwendal had a father and son conversation with his father was on the last day Gwendal saw him. His father was in a good mood that time, Gwendal thought, because he saw his father smiled. He didn't know that his father was smiling at him, but later he found out that it was he who made him in such a good mood. His father called him and joked with him. When his father hugged him, it almost made him cried, not because he was scared, he was so happy. They talked about Gwendal being a heir to the family and how Gwendal made his father proud of him. That was when Gwendal understood that his father was happy because he was his father's son and the second reason was Gwendal had made his father proud of him. But, he didn't know what made his father proud of him.

Later on the night, Gwendal eavesdropped his father and mother talking. It looked like his father was telling his mother that he was going to a war. Gwendal became more curious and he looked inside the room from the keyhole. He looked inside and he saw his father was giving a letter to his mother. His mother embraced his father. That was the first time he saw his mother did that to his father. Usually she only did it to him, never to his father.

"You have to come back" His mother told his father. Her voice was so soft, Gwendal almost didn't hear it. "For Gwendal"

His father patted his mother head, like he did with Gwendal earlier. And then the man nodded. His mother looked up and gazed at his father's eyes. They kissed. And then, Gwendal's father headed to the door. Gwendal went back to his room quickly. For a split second, he thought, he saw his mother crying.

* * *

In his own room, Gwendal thought about his father and mother. Everyone thought they didn't love each other, and Gwendal thought that way too. But, when he saw his parents earlier, he began to think differently. He thought that the love between his parents were not the love they could show to many people. When he looked at them earlier he knew that they loved each other, but they didn't show it to anyone else, including him, their son. Or maybe they had just begun to love each other. Gwendal tried to be a stupid child in his father and mother relationship matter. But, he also knew that his father and mother were not that stupid and both of them had known Gwendal realized about that as well. But, he still tried to pretend he didn't know anything in front of them.

When Gwendal was still thinking about the event earlier. His father entered the room. Gwendal was surprised and tried to be stupid again. He looked at his father. His father's face was... sad. Full of sorrow. His father told him that he was going to a war. And Gwendal realized that his father knew when Gwendal was peeking on him earlier. And then, Gwendal listened to his father carefully.

"You have to protect your mother. You have to be the head of our family. You have to bear your responsiblity" his father said. "I may not come back, and you know that, right?"

Gwendal nodded.

"If I come back, it's okay for you to be a child until you reach sixteen. If I don't, I hope you have already known what to do. You must behave yourself like an adult even if you are still a child" Gwendal's father said. Gwendal was sure that his father thought he wouldn't come back. He nodded again.

"That's all. I'll leave the castle tonight. Sleep well, my son" his father said

His father was about to open the door when Gwendal said, "Good night, father. I hope you'll be safe in your journey". His father smiled.

That was the last thing Gwendal had ever said to his father.

* * *

When Gwendal was thirteen, he met Anissina. Her father was summoned by his mother. Anissina's father was the head of a noble family. Because they were staying in the castle for about three weeks, Gwendal was asked by his mother to play with Anissina. Gwendal and Anissina became good friends in no time. Gwendal remembered what he said to Anissina when he met her for the first time. It was "My name is Gwendal von Voltaire, my lady. Enjoy your time here", he said it while helping her out of the carriage.

Everytime he remembered about that he always laughed, but he didn't if he was in front of many people. He thought Anissina might have forget about it. But she did not. It was the very reason why he was interested in this boy.

It was the day when Anissina supposed to leave the castle. A letter came to Gwendal's mother and she cried while reading it. Gwendal came to her and asked why she cried. She showed him the letter. He read it very carefully. His father was dead.

* * *

When his father's body arrived at the castle, he didn't know what to say to her mother to encourage her. Anissina and her father delayed their journey back to their own castle. Gwendal was not too sad about that. But, when he remembered his last day with his father, it did make him want to cry. But, he didn't.

The body was buried under a very big tree on a hill. Gwendal saw his mother dropped a silver pendant just before the earth started to engulf his father's body.

"What is that, mother?" Gwendal asked his mother while pointing at the pendant that his mother threw a few seconds ago

"A thing I should have given your father before he left" His mother told him. "When we arrived at the castle, come to my room, I want to talk to you, and give you something your father entrusted to me to give you before he left"

* * *

Gwendal went to his mother chamber when he arrived at the castle. His mother had been waiting for him there. There was a sword on the table. And Gwendal believed his mother wouldn't think of killing herself and him in her chamber.

She handed him a letter. Gwendal remembered the envelope. He remembered his father giving it to his mother before he left. "Open the letter, son" his mother said.

Gwendal opened the envelope, there were three sheet of paper inside it. He began to read it. The first and the second was about his father's possession. All of his father's possessions were Gwendal's after his father's death. Gwendal read the third letter carefully. His tears began to dwell in his eyes as he read the same sentences over and over, trying to make sure he read them correctly. When he finished the tears were flowing down his cheeks.

His mother embraced him lightly. There was just a few sentences in his father's letter. It was only, _'I love you, son. Tell your mother I'm really sorry. And I hope you will never forget me, even we only 'talked' to each other once'_

He had read the letter until he memorized his father's letter. He didn't believe it, his father was so quiet, even his letter didn't talk so much. That day Gwendal and his mother talked about his father until Gwendal fell asleep in his mother's room. That was the last time Gwendal slept with his mother. And it was when he started to learn how to act like a real adult.

* * *

He didn't play with Anissina on the next day. And Anissina knew that Gwendal wasn't in the mood to play. She tried to cheer him up. Gwendal felt better and thanked her. He took her to the garden and he told her all the things that happened the day before. He even told her about his father and mother, he told her all about his family. Gwendal believed that Anissina could keep his secret. That time they swore to be best friends forever and they would always help each other. Later, Gwendal regretted doing that.

Anissina kissed his cheek and said, "It would be alright". Gwendal was surprised because of the kiss.

"Why did you kiss me?" he asked

"My mother used to do that when I was sad" she replied

"What do you mean by saying she _used _to do that?" Gwendal asked. "Is... Is she no longer with you?"

Anissina nodded. "Yeah, three years ago she died" she said. "That was when your father left, right?"

Gwendal looked at her in surprise once again and then he nodded.

"Both of us have lost one of our parents. I lost my mother, you lost your father" Anissina said. "We're similar to each other, I think"

Gwendal didn't say any word, neither did Anissina. He didn't think about Anissina's feeling before this. He didn't know anything about her family. Gwendal thought about asking her about her family later, he didn't think that moment was the right time to ask her about it. . When he saw her face, he realized that his father's death had reminded Anissina about her own mother, maybe, Anissina was sad too when she went with him to the hill where his father was buried. Gwendal and Anissina were sitting in the garden until the servants found them there late in the evening and forced them to get something to eat. Anissina and Gwendal did as they were told. After they had eaten some foods, both of them went to sleep.

* * *

**TBC**

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Actually this is my third Kyou Kara Maou fic. Actually about Gwendal and Anissina. But, I started the story from the death of Gwendal's father. In my story, Mazoku ages slower than human after they reach ten years old...

Sorry if there are many grammatical mistakes or if I use the wrong words.

Reviews are very appreciated.

Thanks for reading!!

-Pheria-


	2. Chapter 2 : My Fault, Your Fault

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Well, here's the second chapter. I hope all of you enjoy reading this fic

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Gwendal and Anissina became very close after they knew about each other's family. When Anissina was about to leave the castle with her father, Gwendal gave her the book that they read together a few weeks ago. Anissina gladly accepted it and promised him that she would come to visit him again soon.

Since then, once in a year Anissina always visited the Blood Pledge Castle. Gwendal was very happy everytime Anissina came, she even taught him how to knit, and then knitting became his hobby, in return, Gwendal taught him how to make a good looking cookies and cakes. But, Gwendal didn't remember since when Anissina started to have interest in mechanical thing. And not long after she had the interest of those things, he became her test subject. That was the first time he regretted the swearing. He wished he had never swore to help each other with her. She used it as an excuse to use him as her test subject, he couldn't say no.

One day, when Anissina hadn't come to the Blood Pledge Castle, a letter arrived. It was for Gwendal from Anissina. Gwendal opened the letter and tried to read it, it was hard to read because the ink was blurred because of water. Gwendal tried to read it. Finally, he was able to read the letter. In the letter, Anissina told him that her father died when he went to the other territory for trading some goods. The rumours said that he was killed. Gwendal replied the letter as soon as he could. He sat on his chair and began to write a letter. He was sure Anissina was crying when she wrote him the letter. Maybe, the ink was blur because of her tears.

Gwendal asked his mother if he could go to Lord von Karbenikoff's territory, his mother nodded and told him that she was going there too. She had to attend Lord von Karbenikoff's funeral. Gwendal remembered when his father died, many of the nobles came and they went home right after the funeral was over. He thought his mother would come there and go back as soon as the funeral was over. So he asked if he could stayed there longer, to cheer Anissina up , like what she did to him before. His mother smiled and said he was a really good boy.

"I'm twenty, mother. I'm not a boy anymore" he said.

"I understand. But, you're still my son, aren't you?" Lady Celi asked

Gwendal didn't answer him and continued to write the letter. He promised Anissina that he would go to her place as soon as possible and sent his letter to Anissina via the pigeon.

* * *

When Gwendal arrived at Anissina's castle, Anissina had waited for him in front of the castle. She was not cheerful as usual. Her eyes were red, maybe from crying every day since the day her father died. Anissina took him to the library. Gwendal was very worried about her.

"Are you alright? he asked

"Do you think I'm alright?" she asked back.

Gwendal didn't answer her. "It will be alright" Gwendal said. It was the thing Anissina said to him when his father died. He embraced her and she cried on his chest. "You'll get over this soon, but never forget your father"

Gwendal remembered it really well. His father letter. He was not that sad when he heard his father died. But, his letter was the thing which made him cried. It was like his father was saying that Gwendal was the only one who would remember him. Not anyone else. And then, Gwendal's thought returned to Anissina. He was sure she was really sad, more than he did, because he knew how much love her father gave to her. Not like Gwendal and his father, Anissina and her father were more like a father and his child. Her father loved her so much and he often showed his affection towards her. That was why Anissina would feel sadder than him. She had lost her father's love and affections towards her. Gwendal looked at her. "Feeling better now?" he asked and smiled

She nodded and returned the smile. It was the first time she smiled after her father died.

* * *

The next day was the funeral day. Lord von Karbenikoff's territory was far in the north, near the sea. So it took more time to reach his territory. That's why the funeral day was delayed for at least a week since the day he was returned to his territory. Anissina looked sad when the earth started to engulf her father's body. But, she looked better, her eyes were not as red as they were the day before and she had more appetite. At least, that was what Gwendal heard from the maids.

Gwendal met Anissina's brother who had become the head of the family since Lord von Karbenikoff died. Anissina's older brother was forty years older than her. Gwendal was only thirteen when he became the head of the family, for the time being, Gwendal had his uncle managed everything for him until he had reached the proper age to be the head of the family.

Anissina's brother was kind to her and he was nice to Gwendal too. Gwendal thought that Anissina's brother's face was similar to hers. When Gwendal told her that, Anissina slapped him. Anissina didn't mean to do that. She was going to hit his head but Gwendal turned his face away from her and her palm hit his cheek. Gwendal blushed.

"Nothing happened" Anissina said to him. "I hit you accidentally. Do not blush, Gwendal von Voltaire!"

Gwendal nodded. He was surprised, but he, too, acted as if nothing had happened between them.

When Anissina had become more cheerful, Gwedal decided it was the perfect time for him to go back to the Blood Pledge Castle. Gwendal was really shocked when Anissina said she would live in the Blood Pledge Castle. He took it as a sign of a dangerous situation. Anissina became very fond of experimenting mechanical things on him lately. At first he only got a scratch and then he got burn, and as the time passed her experiment became more and more dangerous.

Gwendal could only cleared his throat when Anissina's brother, Densham von Karbenikoff, let his sister live in the Blood Pledge Castle. Gwendal began thinking of going to his own terrtitory and continued his study there.

* * *

When Gwendal was twenty five, he went to his own territory. The first reason was he could not get used to Anissina's experiment and the second was he wanted to study his own territory. Actually, the second reason was obviously a very important reason, but somehow Anissina had become her first reason in all of a sudden. Gwendal discovered that he was actually scared of his best friend, Anissina and he wanted to run away from her.

Though he was scared of Anissina, he also concerned about her. When he was about to leave, Anissina looked very sad, Gwendal even thought twice about leaving the Blood Pledge Castle because of her, but he decided it would be better to recover himself from the trauma first. Lady Celi didn't like his son's idea about leaving the Blood Pledge Castle. But, Gwendal gave his mother his second reason and his mother finally nodded in agreement.

But, if you know Lady Celi, she didn't like being alone all the time. She lost her appetite and she didn't take care of her flowers anymore. Anissina sent Gwendal some letters about those matters and Gwendal went back after three years. He had study a lot and he looked more intelligent than he was before. And when Lady Celi saw him, she said, "Your expressions are the same as your father's"  
Gwendal didn't look happy with the comment. Anissina welcomed him and she baked him a cake.

"That cake is for you" she said and pointing at the cake on the table.

Gwendal looked at her than he looked at the cake. "How nice of you to bake a cake for me"

"Why don't you start eating it?" she suggested

"Well, okay" he said and bit the cake. He chewed it. "Delicious. You'd become so much better now"

"Thanks" Anissina watched him eating the cake. Suddenly Gwendal became sleepy and Anissina said he was just tired because he had just arrived there. She helped him to walk to his own room. On the way there Gwendal had already fell asleep, Anissina smirked.

* * *

When Gwendal woke up, he found himself in a very strange room. He saw Anissina walking towards him. He was a little surprised when he found that he was tied with a rope. But then, he tried to convince himself that the one who did it was Anissina, she was not that dangerous, maybe.

"Anissina, what are you doing? Why did you tie me up?" he asked when she came closer to him.

"I'm experimenting you know. You should be happy, Gwendal. You're going to be the first to try this" Anissina smiled at him. He couldn't believe it. He was just back home and now he was going to be used for some dangerous experiments.

"In the name of Shinou, you have become crazy now!" he exclaimed.

Anissina didn't listen to him. She attached several things to Gwendal's body and turned the machine on.

"AHHH!" Gwendal screamed. Electricity flowed through his body. When she turned it off, she said, "A failure"

Anissina unattached the wires from his body and took him to his room. She made him a cup of tea and asked him if he was alright.

"Of course I'm not alright. I was going to die you know!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that" Anissina said softly. Gwendal decided to forgive her, since she looked very scared. Maybe she thought the same way as he did. Anissina tried to make sure Gwendal was really alright, and then she left him alone in his room.

Gwendal didn't really blame her, he knew she didn't have someone to be her test subject and she couldn't be her own test subjet, because if something happened to her who could repair the machine? So, the only one who could be her test subject was him. He wanted to help her, really. But, if he had to risk his life to help her on her unuseful experiment, he would say no for sure. He wanted to be a man his father could be proud of and if he died because of Anissina, he would never be one.

* * *

Anissina didn't talk for Gwendal for a month since the last incident. She felt guilty. Gwendal thought that she should feel guilty because she almost killed him that time. She rarely showed herself since that time. Gwendal only met her when they had breakfast or lunch. Lady Celi knew there was something happened between them, but she didn't say anything either.

Anissina stopped making those experiments too. No blasts, no fire, the castle became really quiet. Everyone in the castle was very aware of that. They didn't complain, they were really grateful that Anissina stopped making those things.

Gwendal was really aware of the changes in the castle. Finally, he came to Anissina's room and talked to her. She looked happy when he came. He thought, maybe she was waiting for him to come. He knew that Anissina was not the open type. He had to know what made her like that, and then came to talk to her. But that time, Gwendal didn't know why she acted like that at all. Gwendal wasn't the open type, either. But he didn't really have problems.

"Anissina... I know we haven't talk for at least a month" Gwendal started the conversation. "Are you angry with me because I didn't want to be your test subject again?"

Anissina looked at him and her eyes was telling him that she didn't believe that he didn't know the reason. She turned away her face from him.

"Please Anissina, don't you know the castle seems to be a bit quiet without you?" Gwendal said again.

Anissina looked at him for a split second. And it looked like she became angrier. "So, you think I'm making the castle noisy?" she asked while turning her head away from him once again.

"No, not like that" Gwendal said. "Okay, then I want to tell you something. I really don't like this situation between us. I don't like that you don't talk to me. And I want you to explain why you act like this"

"Don't you know that I'm trying to convince myself not to make those experiments again?" she asked loudly. "I'm feeling guilty because you almost died because of me! But, everytime I see you, I just want you to try those inventions. Understand?"

"No, not at all. Why do you want me to be your test subject?" he asked loudly, like he was shouting at her.

"Don't you dare to shout at me. I'm not your subordinate!" she screamed. "Because I believe in you! The one who will tell me that my invention is a failure is you! The other won't tell me that. That's why I want you to try the invention. But then, I understand my inventions were all failures!"

He was stunned. He didn't think that Anissina would say all of her own inventions were failures. They stopped talking for a moment. Both of them lookeed at each other's eyes deeply.

Then Gwendal turned away and left her alone in her room. He thought both of them needed time to think.

* * *

Gwendal was surprised when his mother suddenly wanted to hold a ball. He didn't really like it. And moreover he was still having a fight with Anissina. The ball was going to be held on the next sunday. The nobles were going to attend it and he was sure Anissina's brother, Densham von Karbenikoff, would come to the ball too. He didn't know how to face her brother, Anissina was a spoiled brat. Her father and brother loved her so much. Maybe she would tell her brother about what happened between Gwendal and her.

Gwendal took his knitting tools and started to knit. He tried to make a bear. But the thread became tangled not long after he started. He shook his head in a disappoinment and threw the knitting tools away. Then, he remembered what Anissina had told him when he learnt to knit. _'You must be thinking too much if the thread become tangled like that. Just take it easy' she said._ Gwendal remembered after that he tried to think simple, the thread didn't become tangled and he started enjoying knitting. He took his knitting tools and tried to make a bear once again.

Lady Celi felt the tension between Gwendal and Anissina had, somehow, become more tense than before. The dining-room felt like an arena, where men usually fought until death.

"What's wrong, both of you?" she asked.

"Nothing" Gwendal and Anissina said together, and looked at each other.

"Well, that's a good news..." Lady Celi tried to laugh, but she failed. There was something happened for sure, but Lady Celi knew both Gwendal and Anissina woudn't tell her anything, even if she asked them. So, she stayed quiet and let them end their problem in their own way.

Sometimes, Gwendal tried to talk to Anissina, she never answered. And, it seemed that Anissina was avoiding him, so they just met in the dining-room and never in the coridor or garden. Gwendal only shook his head when he was aware of how many times he tried to meet her and all of his efforts were in vain.

* * *

The ball had already started when Gwendal arrived at the ballroom. He looked around and he saw no sign of Anissina. No red hair, he thought. Gwendal didn't really know how to face Anissina's brother if he saw him there. There could be apossiblity that Anissina would tell her brother about their problem. Gwendal knew that Anissina was a spoiled brat. Her father and her brother loved her very much. So, Gwendal hoped he would not meet Densham von Karbenikoff in the ball.

Lady Celi was talking to the noblewomen when Gwendal came to her direction. Lady Celi was proud of Gwendal and often talked about him in front of many people. Usually she would say Gwendal would become the head of von Voltaire family after he had reached the proper age to lead the family. But, Gwendal never talked about it in front of anyone. He always thought, it was nothing to be proud of and he should sad because of it. He was forced to stopped being kid when he was still a kid and had to become an adult. He didn't like it, but, he had to do it.

Though Gwendal looked very mature. He wasn't that mature for mazoku's age. He was still really really young. Many of the nobles thought he was at least forty, because he was really tall. Gwendal looked like his father, but a bit shorter and a lot younger. Gwendal reminded his mother of his father.

After talking with his mother for a moment, Gwendal stayed away from his mother and her friends. He didn't want to be part of them. He hated gossips and things like that.

The dance started. Everytime the song changed, the dance partner changed. Finally, Gwendal met Anissina. She was beautiful, Gwendal had to admit. She wore a really beautiful red satin dress. Gwendal was surprised that Anissina could dressed up herself while she was not in the mood. Just looked at her face and he understood that she wasn't in the mood to dance with him. But, before Anissina went away, Gwendal asked for her hand.

"May I have a dance with you, my lady?" he asked politely. Anissina was surprised that he asked her for a dance, but she nodded. Gwendal smiled when he saw her nodded.

They danced. She looked down, didn't look at him or didn't want to look at him. She just followed his moves and she didn't even seem to realize when he stared at her. She kept looking at the floor until he called her name.

"Anissina" he called her and she looked at him. "I'm sorry. It was all my fault" Gwendal said. He knew Anissina wouldn't apologize to him if he didn't apologize first. And he wasn't sure Anissina would admit she was wrong for the second time.

Anissina looked surprised when she heard him apologizing. "It was my fault. It was me, who asked you to try the inventions. And I forced you to do it because of my selfish reason, you almost died because of it. Don't apologize to me" she said softly. But Gwendal could feel that she felt really guilty of what happened to him.

Gwendal stayed silent and let her continue.

"When you left my room, I realized that I was wrong. I wanted you to try my inventions and risked your own life just for my inventions. I want to apologize to you, but everytime I see you, I feel embarassed" she explained

"I shouldn't shout at you that time. Even if you shouted at me. I should think more about your feelings" Gwendal said.

Gwendal and Anissina hugged each other tightly. "Do you want to be my friend again?" she asked

"We're still friends, right?"

Anissina smiled and loosened her hug. They danced until the music was over. That was when all of their problems ended as well. And then Anissina went to dance with another guest.

Not long after that, Gwendal took Anissina to his room. She followed him. He said that he had something to give to her. And she was happy when he said that. When they arrived at his room, Gwendal asked Anissina to close her eyes. Anissina didn't try to peek. Then, Gwendal took the bear he made and aske d her to open her eyes. She opened her eyes. When she saw the bear, she looked so happy. Gwendal smiled too, when he saw Anissina smiled.

"This panda is so cute, Gwendal!" she admired the stuffed bear in her hand.

"That's a bear you know, a bear" he told her

"This colours were supposed to be a panda's fur, don't you know that?" she asked sarcastically

"Is that so?" Gwendal asked Anissina back with the same tone.

"Yeah, you should study about animals" she said

"What do you mean by that, Anissina?" he asked with a challenging tone.

"Nothing. Just a suggestion" she said. Anissina turned her face away from him for a split second and turned to him again. And in all of a sudden, she kissed him on his lips. Gwendal was stunned by her action. He never thought Anissina would do it with him. When she stopped kissing him, she grinned wickedly. "I don't know what to give to you. So, I thought I gave you a kiss. I could tell you've never been kissed before" she chuckled and left him alone in his room, still stunned. Gwendal didn't believe it at all.

While Gwendal was still stunned in his room, Anissina was just outside of his room, blushing because of her own action. She, too, didn't believe she could do it, and she didn't regret it at all. After a few moments, she returned to her own room with a smile on her lips.

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**TBC**

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**Second chapter finished! I'm happy that I can finish this chapter this fast. I hope all of you enjoy reading this fic. I'm sorry if there are many grammatical mistakes or wrong usage of some words. I'll try my best to fix them up. You can tell me if you want to.**

**Thanks so much for reading and if you want to review, I really appreciate it.**

**-Pheria-**


	3. Chapter 3 : Between Friends and Lovers

**Well, this is chapter three. The time line skipped to when Gwendal met Dan Hiri Weller - Conrad's father-. **

**There's one of the episode about Gwendal and Dan Hiri Weller, this is a chapter about it...**

**Let's start !**

* * *

Gwendal didn't know since when his mother had a new lover. Dan Hiri Weller suddenly showed up in front of him. Gwendal had to admit that Dan Hiri was a nice guy, but then when his mother told him he that she was going to marry Dan Hiri, Gwendal was shocked, he didn't want a new father. He didn't need one. And Gwedal knew that Dan Hiri was only a few years older than him. He was supposed to be friends with the man, not father and son. But, Lady Celi didn't want to give up asking him until one day Gwendal let her married Dan Hiri Weller.

Anissina tried to cheer her friend up. She knew that Gwendal didn't like to have a father who was only a few years older than him.

Gwendal also knew that humans aged faster than mazoku, he realized, soon Dan Hiri would die and his mother would be lonely again. He didn't want that to happen. If Dan Hiri was a mazoku, maybe he would let his mother married him without his mother forced him to agreed. But Dan Hiri wasn't a mazoku, he was a human.

Since his mother married Dan Hiri, Gwendal never acted nice in front of him, he didn't know why himself. He didn't want to make Dan Hiri sad, actually. But, Gwendal realized everytime he was talking with Dan Hiri, he became rude, and when they practiced sword together, Gwendal often got angry with him. Gwendal often asked himself why he did it, but he never got the answers. He even consulted it with Anissina. And even though they tried to find the answer, they never found it.

* * *

Conrad was born a year after the marriage. Gwendal often took care of Conrad whenever his mother was busy with the meetings, or other things related to the country matters. Gwendal liked him so much, because Conrad was really cute that time. Gwendal often made stuffed animals for his brother. Sometimes Anissina helped him taking care of Conrad too.

Conrad was big enough when Dan Hiri took him to a long journey. Lady Celi met Wolfram's father and soon, Wolfram was born. When Wolfram was small, he was not a really spoiled brat. Gwendal often made stuffed animals for him too. Wolfram always looked so happy when he got those stuffed animals from his older brother, though he always looked scared when Gwendal was around. But, then Wolfram knew Gwendal loved him so much, because Gwendal often gave him cute cookies and asked Anissina to take care of him when he got too much things to do.

Then, one day, Conrad and his father returned to the castle. Gwendal was a bit surprised when he saw Dan Hiri. The man didn't change at all- he didn't age. He didn't ask his mother about it. He kept it to himself. And more to his surprise, Dan Hiri asked him to go on a journey with him to a village. Gwendal didn't want to go with him at first. But after a talk with Anissina, he finally agreed to go with Dan Hiri.

* * *

Gwendal was quite surprise when he saw how the villagers admired Dan Hiri. The village was near the human territory and there were many bandits around those area. A willager told him that Dan Hiri Weller had rescued them from those bandits.

"Gwendal, there were a new group of bandits that would likely to attack this village" Dan Hiri told him. "Have you prepared yourself?"

"I have. And I don't need you to tell me" Gwendal said.

The bandits came on the next night. Dan Hiri battled the boss and Gwendal tried to protect the villagers.

"Hey, you said you're the greatest swordsman!" Gwendal shouted at Dan Hiri. Dan Hiri was struggling against the boss, he was cornered. Gwendal headed to his direction after he secured the villagers.

Dan Hiri looked at him, and Gwendal was surprised again when Dan Hiri looked so old. He wasn't that old when he came a few days ago, Gwendal thought, how could he become old in just one night? Then Gwendal remembered the day Dan Hiri returned to the castle with Conrad. Conrad was in front of him on his own horse. And Dan Hiri was right behind Conrad, on his old horse. Gwendal realized Dan Hiri had already old that time and Gwendal ran to his aid immediately. He slashed the boss and when the boss was uncoscious, he went to Dan Hiri's direction. The villagers had already gathered around Dan Hiri. And when Dan Hiri asked for Gwendal, the villagers let him entered the crowd.

"You are old. Why are you keep on doing this thing?" Gwendal asked. He sounded pretty concern about Dan Hiri's condition.

Dan Hiri chuckled. "This is the proof that I once live. My proof of life" he said to Gwendal.

Gwendal couldn't believe that the man was thinking about that kind of sentimental thing. But, Gwendal let him continued talking, he knew that Dan Hiri wouldn't live much longer.

"You know, people will remember me. They won't forget me. I'll be living forever" Dan Hiri said and looked at Gwendal deply in the eyes. "In their heart"

Dan Hiri coughed.

"Don't speak anymore" Gwendal said. That time for the first time, Gwendal didn't want to lose Dan Hiri, even though he knew Dan Hiri was going to die, he asked the villager to bring him some water and bandages.

"No need for that" Dan Hiri told gwendal. "I'm going to die soon. Oh yeah, you want to hear the reason why I chose you to go on this journey instead of Conrad, right?"

Gwendal nodded.

"Well, since years ago, you always looked at me like I'm your enemy, I was so sure that you hate me because I travel a lot. So I want you to know what I did in every journey that I went on" he said. "That's all. I guess you didn't like it. Look you frown again. Actually I'm only a few years older than you, and you know it right? Being your father was a really weird thing. Mazoku really have a long life, I hope you live your life to the fullest and bury me in this village after I die" Dan Hiri chuckled and smiled for the last time.

Gwendal buried Dan Hiri in that village and received many thanks from the villagers. And then he set off on his journey back home.

* * *

Anissina gave him a warm welcome when he arrive at the Blood Pledge Castle. But, he didn't seem to notice it a bit. He went to his own room immediately and thought about his journey with Dan Hiri. He didn't know Dan Hiri went on journey to save those people, he thought Dan Hiri just couldn't live without adventures. He felt a bit guilty for making Dan Hiri didn't know what to do with him except taking him to see the truth for himself.

Suddenly, his door was opened loudly. Gwendal was a bit surprised. He looked at the direction of the door. Anissina was standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Gwendal asked. "Didn't I tell you not to talk to me for the time being?"

"I don't care about it. I wanted to talk to you. What's wrong with you?" she asked softly and walked to him.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" he said loudly and looked at Anissina's eyes. Anissina caressed his left cheek and kissed him in the lips

Gwendal didn't move, the kiss was too surprising for him. After kissing him, Anissina looked at him. She knew he felt very shock about the kiss and she let him stay stunned for a while.

"I worried about you" she began. "When the guard was shouting, saying someone is dead, I thought something has happened to you. I'm glad you're okay. And I'm sorry for your father"

"Conrad's father" Gwendal corrected him.

"Yours, too" she said again. "Won't you tell me what has happened to you?"

Gwendal looked down for a while, then he looked at her. "Nothing happened"

"Well, that's okay if you don't want to tell me" she said. "Just tell me, if you need someone to share about it. I think you're fine now"

Gwendal didn't say anything as Anissina got out from his room. But, he wished he could feel that kiss once again.

* * *

Gwendal never talked to ther about Dan Hiri. He kept it just for himself. Since Dan Hiri died, Conrad lived with his mother in the Blood Pledge Castle. Both Conrad and Gwendal loved Wolfram so much. Not just them, all the people in the castle like baby Wolfram, because he was so cute. He was a boy version of Lady Celi, people said.  
Anissina often helped Gwendal and Conrad to take care of Wolfram. She even forgot to try her invention on Gwendal because of Wolfram. When Wolfram started to talk, Gwendal took care of him less and Conrad spoiled him so much. That was the reason Wolfram became selfish, especially when he was with Conrad.

Anissina often took a walk with Gwendal after he had finished his work. Gwendal had started to work in politics. And he was to be the head of his own family soon. Anissina realized his free time wouldn't be as much as this soon. So, she decided to spend more time with him until that happened.

One day, when they were having the evening walk, Gwendal kissed Anissina.

"I don't mean to do it. It's just... suddenly happened!" Gwendal tried to make an excuse. His face was as red as tomato.

She chuckled. "Want to be my lover?" she asked him

"No, not at all" he said

"Don't lie to me. You fall for me" she said. "Because, I do, too"

She smiled at him. And embraced him tightly. He was a bit shock, but after he recovered, he kissed her once again.

"Let's go home" she said. "Don't tell your mother, okay? Lady Celi will announce this everywhere and we won't be able to have time for ourselves"

"I think that way too" he agreed.

Gwendal pretended that he hated Anissina because she used her as her test subject when he returned to the castle. Lady Celi seemed to notice this change but she didn't say anything.

That night, Gwendal slept with Anissina. It was not their first time sleeping together, but this time they slept together as lovers.

* * *

"It's morning, I should be back to my room now" she said and dressed herself in her usual outfit. "See you later"

Anissina gave a kiss on his cheek and then left him alone. Gwendal didn't believe he just slept with her best friend who had become his lover. He knew he had loved Anissina since a long time ago, but he couldn't believe that she loved him too. He was happy.

He took a bath and went to have breakfast. He met Anissina and smiled at her. When Lady arrived in the dining-room, Gwendal frowned at Anissina. He was a good actor.

Anissina only threw a challenging smile at him. Lady Celi shook her head. He knew that Gwendal and Anissina often have a fight, but didn't understand how can they have a fight every day. That was when Lady Celi fell into the lover's trap. Gwendal and Anissina had secured their relationship but it didn't last long.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**It's finished, the third chapter of First Love. I know I'm not so good in grammar. Tell me my mistakes, I really appreciate that.**

**Reviews are welcomed.**

**Thanks for reading!!**

**-Pheria-**


	4. Chapter 4 : Scars and Wounds

**Here is the 4th chapter of First Love. Well, I hope you enjoy this fic and sorry for grammatical mistakes.**

* * *

"Morning" Anissina said. She smiled at Gwendal who was only half awake. "You should get ready now. Today is Wolfram's sixteenth birthday" she reminded him.

Gwendal didn't answer her. He shut his eyes.

Anissina frowned at him. "Hey! Can you at least listen to me??"

"I have listened to you. I know today is his big day. Let me rest a bit. Last night was tiring you know" he said.

"Oh, is that so? You're so weak. Good bye" she said and went out of the room.

Gwendal ignored her. He was tired because the day before he had to finish all of his works just to attend Wolfram sixteenth birthday, and yet Anissina still used him as her guinea pig for her latest experiment. He should be happy if her experiment worked, but, no, her experiment was a big failure. The thing exploded, and you should have known what happened to him after that. Really, sometimes he couldn't stand her, even if he really loved her.

Gwendal got up from his bed. Looking at his arms which got burned, and his back which was aching all night long. _Should I sacrifice myself for her? He thought. I could've been dead._

He went to bath himself. He felt pain all over his body when he got into the bath tub. Sometimes he thought he was the victim of bullying, with scratches and wounds all over his body. But, he really loved her and he wanted to do everything she asked of him. Lately, he realized he couldn't do every single thing she asked of him. There were a few things he couldn't do and he shouldn't force himself to do it for her.

"I hope she would take care of me after the ceremony" he said to himself.

* * *

The ceremony was over and the party began. Many people who felt sleepy in the ceremony, when the party was about to begin, they were all cheering and nobody felt sleepy any more. The foods were delicious, the music was perfect, and that day was a very beautiful day. The flowers were everywhere, Lady Celi herself arranged those flowers for the party.

Conrad and Julia were having a dance, Wolfram was talking to Elizabeth, and it looked like he asked her to dance with him. Gwendal looked for Anissina. _Where is the red-haired woman go? He thought._

"Looking for Anissina, Gwendal darling?" Lady Celi patted his shoulder. Gwendal looked at his mother who suddenly appeared next to him.

"Well, yeah" he answered. "Do you know where she is, mother?"

"I know where she is. I'll take you to her" her mother said. Gwendal was a bit curious of his mother behaviour. Usually she didn't answer his question like that. He assumed that there was something happened there.

His mother walked to the balcony, and Gwendal followed her. There, he found Anissina, she was gazing at the distance.

"Anissina" he called her. Anissina looked at him and smiled.

Lady Celi went to the hall, leaving the two of them to talk. "I told your mother, about us" Anissina said. "She is happy, I can see that happiness in her. She is really glad you can find someone you love, because she told me you were really similar to your father. A stoic man and hard headed. She said. we could get married anytime we want"

Gwendal didn't believe it, Anissina told his mother. "I'm not ready yet" he said to her.

"By the way, you mother said, she had known our relationship since a long time ago, the maids told her. Thanks to Conrad, she didn't tell us that she knew it all the time" Anissina chuckled.

"I don't think you really want to marry me, Anissina. You're confused" he said.

Anissina walked towards him and hugged him tightly. "You're right, I think" she said softly. "I really want to be with you, but if we get married, that's the end of my career as a scientist. I will have to take care of you and your children, like any other women"

He caressed her back, trying to comfort her, so she wouldn't start to cry. He didn't say any words nor did she. They just stayed like that for a quite long time until both of them felt better.

* * *

The party was over and Gwendal returned to his own room. Anissina was not with him, she said she needed time to think alone. The moment with Anissina in the balcony flashed in his mind. That time, deep in his mind, he knew that someday he should get a heir for his own family, if Anissina didn't want to get married, he had to find another woman who he would love. In the other words, he would break up with Anissina. Marriage seemed out of question for her. Her dreams and ambitions were the most important things for her and Gwendal was the second. For Gwendal, she was the number one, the second was his family, etc.

Gwendal didn't want to think about those things. He reminded himself he was too young to get married. But, he knew that he had reached the proper age to get married. He had been the family head for three years. If he had became the head for three years, that means he supposed to have a wife to take care of him.

CKLEK!

The door was opened. Anissina came into the room and locked the door. She walked towards Gwendal. Her hair was down. Somehow, he couldn't read her emotion at all, he felt like she was really far away, even though she was only a meter from him. She sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. No one started to talk. They just stayed in silence for hours.

She took a deep breath and looked at him in the eyes. "Have you thought of Lady Celi's offer?"

He nodded. "Have you?" he asked her

She nodded too. "I come with one conclusion"

"Me, too" he said. "I think my conclusion is a bad thing. I don't want to tell you"

"Mine was a bad one for us too" she said. "Looks like we have the same conclusion, huh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. Can't we have another topic?"

"Another topic? Well, better than Lady Celi's offer topic, at least"

"How if you take care of me now? The last explosion makes my whole body feel like rotten"

"Alright, alright. I am responsible for it. Take off your shirt"

Anissina applied some unknown liquid on his back. He followed her instructions, his body just wanted to be taken care of. She massaged his body and he became sleepy in a short time. Gwendal tried to stay awake to chat with her. Anissina looked at his body. So many scars, and she believed it was because of her.

_How can I not realized he has these scars and wounds with him all the time?? I think, I often slept with him. Am I becoming blind? she thought_. She felt really guilty. He never told her about these wounds and scars, he just said 'I'm tired' or 'I have tried your experiment yesterday, can't you give me some time to recover?'

Anissina realized she never paid any attention to him. He treated her very well, all the time he was giving her what she wanted from him._ I shouldn't have forced him to try my experiments so much, she thought, I never knew his body is covered with wounds and scars_

"I'm sorry" Anissina apologized and to make sure those were caused by her, she asked him, "Are these wounds on your body come from the experiments?"

Gwendal didn't say anything, he was already asleep. Anissina looked at the scars once again. She stood up, covered his body with blankets and went out of the room.

Gwendal opened his eyes. He looked at the door for few seconds, hoping that Anissina would enter again, but finally, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Anissina didn't come to wake him up, she didn't even show up in the dining room.

Gwedal went to the dining room alone. Lady Celi threw a glance at her son when he entered the dining room without Anissina. Gwendal tried to avoid his mother's eyes, he didn't like his mother's eyes when she wanted to know about something, and he quickly got out of the room once he finished his breakfast. Lady Celi shook her head when she saw him out of the room.

Gwendal went to some places he usually went with Anissina. He had visited the marketplace, the balcony, the garden, and even the stable, but she wasn't there. Finally, he went to a hill where Anissina and him usually sat under the tree and chatted with each other.

"Where are you going to go after this place?" Gunter asked

"Gunter? Since when have you been there?" Gwendal asked. Gwendal was quite shocked that he was followed by Gunter, his rival and his second best friend.

"I've been following you all day, my Lord" Gunter laughed. "You should be careful. You lost concentration that you didn't even sense my presence, the usual you don't make this kind of mistake"

Gwendal didn't say anything. He just nodded.

"Oh, I see!! That's because of that girl right? Your childhood friend also your lover, Anissina! I know you love her, Gwendal, but I think, if she didn't want to be with you, you shouldn't force her" Gunter advised him.

Gwendal looked at Gunter. '_Do you think she doesn't want to be with me?' he thought._ Gwendal got on his horse and left Gunter alone.

"Oh, there he's gone... Didn't change, huh? Still naive and hard-headed..." Gunter shook his head and sat under the tree, looking at the sun that was going to set far ahead of him.

* * *

While Gunter was enjoying the sunset, Gwendal rushed to see Anissina. He knocked hard on her bedroom door, since she didn't seem to be there, he went to her laboratory. He opened the door. The door was not locked.

"Anissina, you there?" he asked. Anissina was looking out of the window. She looked behind her and found Gwendal only a step from her.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I..."

"I'm here to look for you. I want to be with you, what about you?" he asked her

"I don't know!" she said. "I've hurt you so much. Those scars and wounds, those were caused by me, right?"

Gwendal was going to embraced her, but, Anissina avoided him.

"No...! You can't be with me, I am not the right one for you" she said repeatedly

"I am!" he said loudly and looked at her fiercely."Listen to me! These wounds were not caused by you, I am a soldier, a man, and a head of a noble family. I went to war several times. And these wounds were because of those wars, okay?"

Anissina looked like she had received an enlightment from Shinou, she was surprised but looked happy because of what Gwendal said.

"The only wound you caused is this" Gwendal said while taking off his shirt and showed her a mark, maybe because fire, that was on his right chest. Anissina went closer to him, touched the wound and hugged him tightly, and then she began to criy out loud, without stopping for several hours, but Gwendal saw her smiling for a few times. He took a deep breath and smiled a bit.

_'Well, at least she won't ask me to try some experiments for the time being' he thought._

* * *

**TBC**

**

* * *

**

**Okay, this is chapter 4... sorry for the late update. my router and adaptor had some problems, and I needed time to fix both of them. Now, because both my router and adaptor has worked well, I can post some stories again...**

**Actually, this is not the real idea for this chapter. But, because if I go directly to the main problem, i think the storyline is going to be ruined. So, now I'm thinking of going slowly but surely. Oh yeah, Gunter is here too now. in this story, Gunter is Gwendal's friend in military school, sometimes Gwendal asked him to stay in his castle, and in Gwendal's castle, he met Anissina.... That's why he knows about Anissina and her relationship with Gwendal.**

**Thanks for reading this chapter and please wait patiently for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5 : A Plan for War

**Well, the fifth chapter of First Love.... ^.^**

**I want to say sorry that I take a very long time just to write this chapter. I knew what I wanted to write, but, I don't really have time to write it. But, here it is now. I finally find the right time to write this chapter.**

**Okay, let's start this chapter!**

* * *

Anissina felt really happy. Her worries were no longer inside her, but this was the start of a much more bigger trouble.

"Gwendal... Have you done with your work?" she asked him. He shook his head.

Anissina only sighed when she got his answer. Well, since the last problem about Gwendal's wounds, Anissina hadn't asked him to do some experiments for her. Maybe she was still scared that she might hurt him. But, the thought of him tricking her with those horrible scars was really annoying to her. Anissina never ever wanted to lose. She wanted to be the winner, and that meant...

She had to make Gwendal fall into her trap, just like what he did to her.

* * *

Actually, Gwendal never intended to trick her. It was Anissina herself who thought that she hurt him- physically, she thought. But, she never thought that she, sometimes, stressed him out- not physically, but mentally. Who wanted to be her guinea pig all the time??

No one.

Gwendal himself was a little bit confused when she didn't come to see him that morning and later after he knew she was worried about him, somehow he felt a bit guilty, but he felt happy too, because usually Anissina wouldn't use him as her guinea pig for a quite long time if she felt she did wrong things to him.

It is true that sometimes Gwendal just wanted to return to his own castle without Anissina and got some time to relax, no explosion or any dangerous things. But he loved her. He often asked himself why he missed her when she wasn't around and why he wanted to be away from her when she was around. Sometimes her presence made him do a much better work, and sometimes made him in no mood for work. And for Gwendal, this kind of thing wasn't very good. For him, if he stayed like that, his people wouldn't get real prosperity. He worked as a leader after all.

Gwendal looked at Anissina who sat on the sofa for a second and continue his work. _'She had influenced my life this much, huh...' he thought_.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. "You looked at me like a cat looking at its prey"

"You're not my prey. I don't even know what to do with a prey like you" he answered. A prey like Anissina always ate its predator.

"Whatever, now, have you finished your work?" she asked. Her sparkling blue eyes looked at him, hoping to get a positive answer from him.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm done within twenty minutes, I think" he said.

"That's good. Let's go to the lake after you have finished those boring..." she said, and was cut by someone's entrance to the office.

"Hello, everyone!" Gunter burst into the room. Both Anissina and Gwendal were a bit surprised by his coming.

"Gunter what were you doing here?" Gwendal asked him after recovering from the surprise.

"Well, I visit you, that's all. The last time we met I didn't get to speak with you properly. Because of her..." Gunter said, when he said her, his eyes were on Anisinna.

"Really, the two of you never get along well. I wonder why. I thought the two of you have the same hobby" Gwendal said.

"What's that?" The two said together. And when they realized they asked the same question, they looked at each other's eyes. They frowned and those eyes said they were both felt annoyed at each other. Then both of them looked away.

"Gwendal, how about a sword practice with me?" Gunter said and smiled.

"Gwendal, you want to go with me to the lake right?" Anissina looked at Gwendal. Her eyes told him to say yes.

"Anissina, you're always with him!" Gunter said. " Can't you let me spend some time with MY FRIEND!!??"

"But, he DIDN'T WANT TO SPEND HIS TIME WITH YOU!!" she shouted.

Gwendal frowned. He was just thinking of a nice and calm spot, and then these two destroyed his imagination. He walked out of his office while the two of them were still fighting over him. His friend and his lover didn't knew it until he was far away from that noisy office.

* * *

Finally, no one won that fight. Gwendal was tired, he was quite busy recently. His uncle Stoffel had started a war with those humans. Actually Gwendal didn't like that idea, he didn't understand why there had to be a war. This war idea was just stupid, Gwendal thought. But, no one could stop Stoffel. He was just his mother son, and that Stoffel was his mother's older brother. What could he do?

Usually Shin Makoku only had wars with those who opposed the kingdom, the record said, Shin Makoku never started a war without a very important reason. But this time, without any reasons, Stoffel started the war. Gwendal didn't even know about the war until one day he was invited to a meeting and suddenly Stoffel mentioned about the war. As a new and young head of the family, Gwendal's opinion wasn't really important. He told the other about his opinion and there were several of the others who agreed with him, but her mother wasn't there to support him. Because Stoffel, who acted as his mother's right hand had another plan, Gwendal's opinion was rejected with a very silly reason. Gwendal didn't even want to remember that reason any more.

Gwendal never said about the war to Anissina. Days in the castle were still peaceful, but if people thought more carefully, they must had wondered about the sword practice that was held all day long.

A preparation for war.

Gwendal changed his clothes while thinking about the war that was going to happen. He wanted to sleep alone that night to have some more time to think. The war hadn't happened yet, and there had to be some ways or a way to stop it. Gwendal thought really hard to find a way to stop the war. The best idea he could get was changing Stoffel's mind before the war started. Even though the war declaration had been announced, but the real war hadn't started yet. And so, Gwendal still had his chance to stop it.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Well, this is the end of chapter five. I really hope that you'll like it!**

**I still have some more ideas to write in the next chapter. But, it'll take some more time before I wrote the next chapter. Okay then, thanks for reading this chapter!**

**Reviews and comments are very welcomed**

**oh yeah, sorry, my grammar is very bad. I'll try to correct it later....**

**bye!**

**-Pheria-**


	6. Chapter 6 : It's Over, Between Us

**The sixth chapter of First Love. Sorry for taking a very long time just to make this chapter. I'm sorry coz my grammar is not good. I'm still learning English grammar. So, I hope you forgive me if there are many mistakes in grammar or vocabulary, I'm going to do my best for the language use. Please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Julia, you seem tired today..." the red-haired woman said.

"I'm okay" Julia responded. "It's just so sad. He will leave you soon Anissina, so do I"

"What do you mean?" Anissina asked her. "I don't get it"

Anissina put a questioning look on her face and from her voice Julia knew that Anissina was a bit worried about her. Julia smiled at her, trying to comfort her.

"Sorry I make you worry about me. Don't think to much about what I just said" Julia told her.

Julia stood up from her seat and walked into the castle followed by Anissina. Anissina rarely understood anything Julia told her. Julia had always been mysterious to her, though Anissina had known her since childhood. For Anissina, Julia was like her sister, an older sister. She was kind, gentle, and patient. Anissina never saw her get angry or crying. It made Anissina jealous that boys always loved Julia more than her, but that only happened when they were children. Now, Anissina, too, admired Julia. Not in the term of love, but as sisters.

"Umm... Julia, can I ask for your advice?" Anissina asked Julia.

"Sure... But, I don't really think I can give you a good advice about technology" Julia told her.

"Not about my invention, but... about... someone" Anissina hesitated. "It's about..."

"About who?" Julia asked her and smiled, and a few seconds afterwards she chuckled.

Anissina looked at Julia and frowned. "You figured out that someone, right Julia?"

"Maybe, but tell me, so I can make sure that my guess is right" Julia told her.

"It's about... " Anissina looked down and played with her fingers, and then shyly said the name, "Gwendal"

"I know it" Julia said and laughed a bit. "Sorry, I don't mean to make fun of you. But, you're very easy to guess"

"It's embarassing. Stop teasing me" Anissina's face was as red as tomato, but unfortunately Julia couldn't see that face of hers.

"Okay, okay. So, what is your problem?" Julia asked

"I'm thinking about my relationship with Gwendal. He said that he would wait for me until I want to marry him. But, if I get married, I won't be able to invent something new, because I have to take care of him and... " Anissina sighed. "Anyway, I want to be with him, but I don't want to to lose my job either. What should I do, Julia?"

"I think, Gwendal thought of your job as an inventor too. That's why he gave you some time to pick which is more important for you. If you choose him, then you must give most of your time for him and less time for your job, and if you choose your job, then tell him to forget you" Julia suggested. "That's what I think"

Anissina looked at Julia, she was shocked. What Julia had said was very logical, both Gwendal and her job were very important to her. All of the time, she thought that her job was the most important to her. But lately she became confused, was her job really that important to her? Or was it because Gwendal was becoming more and more important to her?

"What are both of you talking about?" a voice suddenly disturbed Anissina's thought. It was Gwendal's.

"Gwendal, why are you here?" Anissina asked, she was very surprised by his sudden appearance. She gulped and wondered if he heard her talking to Julia earlier.

"Good day, Gwendal" Julia greeted him.

"Hello Julia, how's it with Adelbert?" he asked

"He's nice. But, it's unfortunate that I will be away from him soon" she said.

"Where are you going?" Gwendal asked

"It's a secret" she answered.

"Julia, since I came here you said you wanted to leave this place, it's a bit weird" Anissina told her.

"You'll understand soon" Julia responded.

"Oh yeah, what are you doing here, Gwendal?" Anissina asked him.

"I'm here to pick you up. I have something to tell you" Gwendal said, he softened his voice until it sounded like a whisper.

"I got to go, Julia. See you" Anissina said.

"See you later Julia" Gwendal said

Julia only nodded.

Julia waved her hand to Anissina who was leaving the room together with Gwendal. And when she heard the door was shut, she sighed and tears came from her eyes.

* * *

"What is it, Gwendal?" Anissina asked him while they were riding the horse.

"I'll tell you when we arrive at the Blood Pledge Castle" he said and Anissina could only wait for it.

Gwendal thought a lot about telling Anissina about what he had had in his mind. He was worried that it would be the wrong choice to tell her about it, but he couldn't keep it alone. Because maybe, this thing would affect Anissina. Maybe.

Anissina was feeling sleepy on the horse back. She circled her arms around Gwendal stomach and put her head on Gwendal's broad back. "Lend me your back, okay?" she said. He nodded. "I'm a bit tired, so don't go too fast or I will fall from here"

"Don't worry, I won't let that happen" he said softly.

Anissina slept on Gwendal's back for the rest of the journey. Gwendal rode his horse in average speed to make Anissina feel a bit comfortable, but he knew that sleeping on a horse back wouldn't be very comfortable.

* * *

The one who welcomed them was not Dakaskos or his mother. It was Gunter. From far away, Gwendal wondered why Gunter be the one who welcomed their coming, but he didn't really care about that and forget it a few seconds afterwards. Beside, if Gunter was there, it would be easier to make a reason to Anissina, if he was not ready to tell her the whole thing.

"My, my... The prince and the princess has come home. The princess was sleeping on her lover's back..." Gunter said

"Stop it" Gwendal interrupted Gunter. Gunter was a bit surprised that this time Gwendal minded him, but his surprised expression quickly changed into a laugh. Gwendal's face was changing to red in no time when he dismounted from his horse. A

Anissina didn't wake up after Gwendal dismounted from his horse, and even after Gwendal tried to wake her up she still didn't wake up. So, Gwendal became the one who was responsible to bring Anissina to her room for a rest. He went inside the castle and went straight for Anissina's bedroom with Gunter following him.

"Well, have you told Anissina?" Gunter asked while Gwendal was laying Anissina on her bed.

"Not yet. I told her that I would tell her everything right after we arrived in this castle. But she fell asleep" Gwendal told his friend.

"Are you sure you want to join the expedition and war?" Gunter asked. "You may not come back"

"I told you that I wouldn't change my mind, beside, Anissina would choose her job as an inventor, not me" Gwendal said. From his voice, Gunter knew that Gwendal was feeling sad, because Anissina wouldn't be the one for him.

"I see. Then, if you die on your expedition, will it be okay for me to have her?" Gunter asked with his challenging tone and looked right into Gwendal's eyes.

"You!" he groaned and showed Gunter his fierce expression. But, suddenly Gwendal took a deep breath and became calm again, he said, "Try and see if you can tame her like I do. But, I'll tell you, you wouldn't be able to have her"

Gwendal looked at Gunter arrogantly.

Gunter laughed at Gwendal and tapped his shoulder. "I'm only joking. No need to be that serious. I know that she wouldn't pick me even if I were the only man in this world. She has made me her arch enemy because of you!"

Gwendal sighed. He was a bit relief that Gunter wouldn't do that. He smiled. "So, if I die, can you replaced me to be her best friend?"

"Unfortunately, no" Gunter said and frowned. "She could only have one you and one me. So I can't be you and myself in the same time. That's why , you must think carefully if you really want to go on the expedition"

"I won't change my mind. I told you that for many times, Gunter" Gwendal said. He looked at Gunter and then Anissina.

"Well, if that is what you want to do. I won't hold you" Gunter said. "But, make sure you come back here. I'll be waiting for you"

Gunter smiled at Gwendal, turned his back and went out of the room. Gwendal could only see his friend walked away and sighed again. He sat on the bedside and held Anissina's hand, and then caressed her cheek. He put on a sad expression while looking at her. "What should I do?" he asked her, but expecting no answer came from her.

Suddenly she opened her eyes.

Gwendal was shocked when Anissina opened her bright blue eyes. He thought she was asleep. Anissina looked at him straight into his eyes which made him stunned for a few seconds. She changed her position into a sitting position right before him and kissed him right away, which made him stunned for the second time.

At first Gwendal didn't move at all, but later he kissed her back. They were into a passionate kiss when suddenly Gwendal felt something wet on his right cheek, but he didn't care about it. He just wanted to stay with her and kissed her as long as he could, because soon he would be leaving, and maybe he wouldn't be able to return.

After they broke the kiss, they gasped for the air and Gwendal looked at her with his sad expression once again.

"You heard me talking to Gunter?" he asked her

She nodded slowly. "You heard me talking to Julia, right?"

"Yes" he answered. "And to me, it looked like you choose your job over me"

"I don't know about it yet" she said with serious expression. "But, if you die, I don't need to think about it again"

"You mean, you want me to die?" he asked impatiently.

"No, I mean. Right now you're important to me. That's why, now I will choose you over my job, but if you die in the expedition..." Anissina explained.

"It's nonsense" Gwendal shouted, interrupting Anissina's explainationn. "Which is more important to you? Me or your job??"

"Don't shout at me! I'm confused! You are important to me, but my job is important as well, it is my pride" she told him and burst into tears.

"Anissina..." he said calmly, then looked at her seriously. "I understand, from now on, it's over. It's over, between us"

Gwendal turned his back and walked towards the door. "Wait, Gwendal!" Anissina called out his name. "I still love you!" she cried. "Please!"

"No, it's over. Don't make me repeat, Lady von Karbenikoff!" he said without looking at her. "Let's just be best friends"

Gwendal slammed the door behind him and walked towards his office to finish his paperwork, but he couldn't even finish a paper. His mind was not with him in the office. It was still around Anissina. Was he to harsh at her? But, he had already told her it was over and he wouldn't want to go to her room and make up with her. It was impossible for him to do that. Just like what Dan Hiri thought him. A mazoku pride.

Finally, Gwendal decided to go to bed earlier without having supper with his mother and brothers. He couldn't sleep for hours and decided not to knit, because it reminded him of Anissina. At last, he fell asleep after getting very tired with those thoughts of Anissina.

* * *

After Gwendal went out of her room, Anissina was crying inconsolably, no one could stop her. Even Gunter took pity on her. Lady Celi could only told her that everything would be fine, but she knew that the relationship was over and would never be like before. That was the first time Anissina cried like that. Usually she wouldn't show her tears to anyone, even her brother almost never saw her crying. But this time, the whole castle knew that she was crying because of Gwendal.

Lady Celi then put a sleeping pill inside Anissina's drink to make her rest after crying. She pitied Anissina, but couldn't do anything about it. A good mother should let her son solve his own problem. That's what Lady Celi was going to do. The blonde Maou walked out of Anissina's room and took a look at the sleeping red haired woman from the door and closed the door behind her slowly.

Lady Celi could only sighed and shook her head. _"What a horrible son!" she thought_

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**This is the end of chapter 6th. A very sad chapter for me. Soon, Yuuri will show up, maybe in the next chapter or after it. **

**I know that this fic is becoming more twisted and also Anissina is very out of character. But, I want all of you to know why I make Anissina a little crybaby. Well, I think if she is weak in her young age, she'll grow to be a strong character, because she has faced many painful events in her life. And in this fic, the most painful event for her is losing Gwendal....**

**Oh yeah, sorry for the grammatical mistake or incorrect usage of some vocabularies. I'm not really good in English, forgive me..**

**By the way, reviews are very appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading and wait for the next chapter! **

**-Pheria-**


	7. Chapter 7 : Behind His Cold Mask

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**Chapter 7... I hope you like the previous chapter ^.^. Now, I'm going to continue this story. **

**Thanks to those who has given me their comments... Reviews make me happy... :D**

**Well, as always, I will tell you that my grammar's not very good and sometimes I use the wrong vocabulary. If there's some parts you don't understand just ask me, I'll explain to you. And of course, I'll try to fix those mistakes...**

**Okay, now, please enjoy this story!**

* * *

"Anissina, how long are you planning to stop talking to us like this?" her brother asked.

Anissina looked at his brother and then looked down. She didn't answer his question. She had been like that since the day Gwendal left for the expedition. Right after Gwendal's figure couldn't be seen again from her bedroom window, she stopped speaking to anyone, including her own family.

Von Kabernikoff's territory was near the sea. Every day, Anissina would see the sea through the window, like she was waiting for someone. When she saw ships coming to her way, she looked at them carefully and trying to figure out to whom those ships belonged to. Anissina never went to her lab again.

It had been three months since Gwendal's departure. And Anissina never received a single letter from him which made her worry about him. But, she didn't have enough courage to send him a letter.

"A letter wouldn't hurt him" his brother said when he saw her writing Gwendal's name on a paper. "He will be very happy to receive one from you, my dear sister"

Anissina's brother, Densham von Kabernikoff, always tried to cheer his sister up. But, Anissina never paid attention to him and so his plans to cheer her up were never a success. Densham had tried to knit for her sister, it didn't make his sister happy, but it did make her angry. Densham tried baking cute cake that Gwendal often did, but it made Anissina became angrier. Then, Densham knew that Anissina wanted to forget about Gwendal. She didn't want to do anything that she often did with Gwendal, she even stayed out of her lab, trying to forget her job which was the most important thing for her before she fell in love with Gwendal.

That day, Anissina was sitting near her window and looking at the sea. Suddenly, Densham burst into the room and made his sister a bit surprise, but it didn't last long until she finally calmed down. Anissina returned her sight to the sea once again. Her brother came closer to her and tapped her shoulder. Anissina turned her eyes to see her brother.

"Anissina, there's someone I want you to see" he said.

"Who?" Anissina responded. Densham was really surprised when his sister finally spoke to him.

"You... you just spoke to me!!" he muttered.

"Do you think I am not able to speak?" she asked him.

"No... I just feel really happy that you finally talk to me after all this time" he said. "Anyway, let's meet him"

Anissina followed her brother, the two of them walked out of the room. Anissina didn't remember when was the last time her brother hold her hand like that, but she didn't mind it. Maybe, she was going to meet someone important. _'Can it be.. Gwendal?' she thought_. But, she didn't want to let that thought last longer. If the one she was going to meet wasn't Gwendal, she would be really disappointed. Outside the room, stood a man she knew very well.

"Gunter... Why are you here?" she asked

"He's the one that I want you to meet" Densham said.

Anissina didn't reply. Gunter looked at her and smiled - kindly, not like the usual smile he gave her- which made Anissina curious about his intentions to be in her family's territory.

"It's been a long time since the last time we met, Anissina" Gunter greeted her. "Your brother told me that you didn't want to speak for months, but I see that you've gotten well"

"It's all thanks to you Lord von Kleist. Because she wanted to know who the visitor is, she said, 'Who?'" Densham told Gunter and mimicked how Anissina spoke.

"Can I have some time to chat privately with you, my lady?" Gunter asked Anissina. She nodded, her brother quickly disappeared from their sight when they paid no attention to him.

Both of them entered the room. Anissina sat on her seat near the window, while Gunter sat on the couch in the middle of the room.

"He left you" he began, Anissina looked at him with anger in her eyes but she said nothing. "Don't get mad. I'm here to help you, okay?"

"Help me?" she asked him. "How can you help me? I know you're happy that I broke up with him"

"I never said I wanted both of you to break up, did I?"

Anissina couldn't answer him. "So what kind of help will you offer me?"

Gunter smiled. "Well, I received a letter from him, a few days ago. There's some parts of the letter which are concerning you. Actually, I think he didn't want you to know, but I'd like you to know"

"Why do you want me to know about it?" she asked. "You gain nothing"

"As his best friend and your friend, I'm going to help the two of you" he said.

"Read it" Anissina ordered him.

Gunter opened the envelope and took the letter out of it. He began to read.

_'Dear Gunter,_

_It's been months since expedition began. Our side gain some new allies and we found many places in our territories that weren't discovered yet. There are many places which will become more vital to us to help our country's situation. Actually, this is not the reason I sent you this letter. I was worried about her. Her cry echoed in my ears every time I go to sleep. Just send me a letter about her condition. How's her experiment?? Does she use you as her new guinea pig? _

_Don't tell her that I asked you about her. Please keep her safe and stay by her side. Protect her. I know she can protect herself, but, sometimes she acted harshly and it made me worried about her. Once again I wanted to remind you, don't tell her that I'm worrying about her'_

"That's it. Oh really, Gwendal is too shy to tell other that he cares" Gunter said to Anissina which looked like he said it himself.

"Yes, he is" Anissina said, her voice so soft that when Gunter heard it he looked at her and saw her cried. He was surprised but he calmed himself down and went towards her.

Gunter embraced Anissina, telling her that it was okay to cry. His voice softened, Anissina felt comforted with his words. She stopped sobbing in no time, Gunter kept on embracing her because her body was still trembling.

"I'll protect you" Gunter murmured so softly that it seemed that he was the only one who could hear it. But, Anissina heard it and she believed in those words.

* * *

Densham was peeking and eavesdropping at his sister and Gunter. He loved to do those things, because he gained more informations and money. _'How about Anissina having a meeting with Lord von Kleist for an arranged marriage?' he thought. 'It seems like they love each other. Look at that, the way he comforted my sister and how his voice changed when talking to her'_

Densham smiled. If the arranged marriage was a success then Gunter would get his sister and he would be able to extend his business. Densham didn't want to arrange the meeting in a rush, he knew the situation wasn't good enough to hold a meeting with such reason. They were having war, but he wouldn't be able to get into the war, since he was a merchant and wasn't skilled enough to survive a war. He can't even beat Anissina when it came to combat, he could only provide money from trading goods. That was his role in this war, to provide money. And so, Densham kept the meeting in his to-do list, so he wouldn't forget his big plan.

* * *

**This is it... I really don't know what to say about this chapter, somehow it becomes Gunter x Anissina. But I'm not going to keep it long. Just wait for the next surprise!**

**By the way, I'm so sorry if you found a lot of grammatical mistakes during reading the story. T.T**

**Reviews are very appreciated.**

**Bye!! See you on the next chapter!**

**-Pheria-**


	8. Chapter 8 : Anissina's Return

**Chapter eight! Sorry to be so long in uploading. I got so many things to do recently and I tried hard to finish those things just to make this fic... **

**Thanks for the reviews you gave me in the last chapter. It helped me through my writer's block. I thank you so much!! **

**So, enjoy!**

**

* * *

**That day was a very fine day. Gunter was still in Kabernikoff's territory. But, he hadn't talked to Anissina again after the last talk about the letter from Gwendal. Gunter spent most of his time in Kabernikoff's territory with Anissina's brother Densham. Gunter didn't really understand Densham. Densham never cared about him before. When they met in the Nobles Meeting, Densham never greeted him- he didn't greet Densham as well-, even when he became the head of the family, Densham didn't care. But, now, every time Gunter was going to see Anissina, Densham always appeared and talked to him until he rarely saw Anissina, except in the dining-table.

Gunter was on his way to see Anissina, but unlike the past few days, Densham didn't come to ruin his plan.

_'Nice,' Gunter thought. _ He knocked on the door and Anissina said "Enter."

Gunter entered the room. Anissina was near her window again. Gunter sighed and shook his head as he walked towards Anissina. When he came to her side, he tapped her shoulder. "Still waiting for him?" he asked.

"No," she said. "I'm not waiting for him. I know he'll come back alive. It has become my habit."

"You should stop looking through the window all day and stopped talking to anybody, except me," Gunter told her. "Oh yeah, why do you only talk to me, not your brother?"

"He's annoying. I know he's planning some meetings for me. He wanted to get rid of me," she said. "Don't say that you want me to come to those meetings."

"What!? Of course not. I know that you would never come to those meeting, unless the one you're meeting is him," Gunter said and smiled.

"Gwendal, huh?" she murmured. "I don't really know whether I'll come or not even if it's him" she looked at him and returned the smile, but a sad one.

Gunter only looked back at her but said nothing anymore. Both of them looking at the wide ocean ahead of them. Sometimes, Gunter would look at Anissina, like he was going to say something to her, but he did not say anything and turn his eyes back to the ocean. They stayed that way until the lunch time.

* * *

Densham was the one who called them for lunch. He tried to hide his happiness inside him, no one was allowed to know what he was thinking or planning. When he saw Anissina and Gunter exchanged smiles when he called them, Densham thought it was a good sign from his sister. As long as he knew, the only man near Anissina was Gwendal. Densham often thought if Gwendal married Anissina, he didn't even need to trade goods anymore. Von Voltaire's territory was rich enough to support his territory and Gwendal's. The other benefit was his land would be safe because the von Voltaire house had many great military officers.

_'But, sadly, Gwendal and Anissina broke up,' thought Densham. He nodded to himself. 'Then, I'll just have von Kleist! Their land is rich enough to support two territories, though the military officers are not as great as von Voltaire's.'_

Densham chuckled.

"What's wrong?" asked Gunter. Seeing Densham suddenly chuckled without reasons was pretty scary.

"Ah! No... nothing... really" Densham answered. Gunter frowned but he continued eating afterwards.

Densham was a bit relieved that Gunter didn't ask him too many questions, and it would be dangerous if Anissina started talking because of Gunter's curiosity. He tried to cough whenever he was about to laugh so he wouldn't be suspicious to them. No one asked him whenever he coughed. He thought he did put a good act in front of them, unfortunately both Anissina and Gunter knew there was something Densham hid from them.

* * *

The lunch was so silent. Anissina didn't say anything but keep on looking her brother as if she knew what he was planning, and Gunter tried to act as if he didn't know anything about Densham. Actually he didn't really know about Densham, but what Gwendal said to him when he was studying with him always in his mind recently.

Flashback...

"_Densham, Anissina's brother, is really weird. I often meet him, and I feel like he is trying to be my brother. He called me 'brother' once," Gwendal said._

_"He is friendly, I think" Gunter commented._

_"I will know it if he's trying to be friendly... But, something's wrong with him" Gwendal said. Gwendal looked at Gunter's expression and said, "Oh, never mind."_

End of Flashback...

_'He's right' Gunter said inside his mind. 'Somehow, Densham is acting different than he usually did. What is he hiding?'_

Gunter walked back to his room, suddenly Densham yelled at him, calling his name. Gunter turned his back. Densham was waving his hand to him and gave him a sign to come to him.

"What's wrong?" Gunter asked when he was in front of him.

"I'll explain later. Come with me" Densham said. It looked pretty serious to Gunter because Gunter was led to Densham's room. That meant what Densham was going to tell him was a private matter and need to be kept secret.

"Please, sit down" Densham said. Both of them sat on the sofa and Densham took a deep breath.

"Okay, now, can you tell me what you want?" Gunter asked.

"Well, it's about Anissina. Actually I think I should make a formal letter, but... I think it's okay to have a face to face talk with you about this matter" Densham said. Densham waited for a second and said, "I want to offer an arranged marriage meeting."

"Anissina and me?" Gunter asked and laughed. "You're crazy. I believe she'll object to this matter if you tell her about it."

"Don't you like her?" Densham asked.

"She's nice, I don't hate her, I love her as a friend. Beside she's still waiting for him," Gunter told Densham.

"Him? You mean, Gwendal?" Densham asked him.

Gunter gave him a nod. Densham sighed and looked down for a second, then he looked at Gunter again as if he found a new idea and met Gunter's eyes.

"Won't you even give it a try?" Densham asked him.

"I don't have to try to have the answer. Oh, how about I'll let you see your sister's reaction by yourself?" Gunter asked.

"That's good enough" Densham nodded and smiled.

Both Gunter and Densham went out of the room. Gunter wanted to show Densham immediately that his sister would never want anybody else except Gwendal. But, Densham thought that actually Gunter liked Anissina, but Gwendal was his friend, so he was holding back himself. Though it had passed his mind that maybe Gunter really love her sister only as a friend.

They walked along the corridor and when they were in front of Anissina's door, both of them took a deep breath. Then, Gunter knocked at the door.

"It's me, Anissina" Gunter said.

"Enter" she said from inside the room. Gunter and Densham looked at each other for a second and entered the room.

The two of them looked very shocked when they entered the room. A huge size mechanical robot was in front of them. Gunter and Densham threw a look at each other once again. They didn't believe it. It was the old Anissina. She walked towards them from the back side of her robot. She was smiling confidently and then she was laughing. It looked like she was very proud of her new robot.

"Hello, gentlemen! I'd like you two to participate in this experiment! It's a good chance that both of you are present here right now" she said to them. "Where's the cable?" she asked herself.

For the third time, Gunter and Densham looked at each other and nodded. It seemed, they had developed some kind of language that only both of them understood in that kind of situation.

They were already running out of the room when Anissina found the cable she needed for the experiment.

* * *

Gunter was back in his room and felt like he would never want to go out of the room, no matter what. He told the maids who cleaned the room to tell Densham and Anissina that he wouldn't have dinner because he was sick. But, Gunter himself realized that maybe Densham knew that he wasn't really sick.

When the maid was out, Gunter was relieved that no one entered the room and sighed. He locked the door and threw his body onto the bed though he wasn't feeling sleepy at all. He thought about Densham's offer. A meeting with Anissina, what a joke! What would Gwendal said if he was told that his best friend was going to have a 'special' meeting with his lover? Gunter promised him to take care of Anissina. Their break up was not only caused by her indecisive action, but the war took part on it as well.

If Gwendal were to die in his expeditions or in the battlefields, he wanted Anissina to not care about it. Gunter knew that Gwendal and Anissina's relationship was hard to understand. Both of them loved each other was the only thing that Gunter understood clearly. For Gunter, it looked like Gwendal was ready to have her as his wife, but Anissina didn't want to marry him because of her women project. It's very normal that Gwendal thought that Anissina was only playing with him. No... no... Gwendal didn't think that Anissina was playing with him. Gwendal just thought Anissina was unfair, she used him for her own sake, though he had given her all of him, Gunter thought. _'But, why does he still love her?' Gunter asked himself._

_

* * *

_

Densham knocked on Gunter's door. "It's me!" Densham said.

Gunter walked towards the door and opened it. Then, he invited Densham to get inside the room. They both sat down on the sofa and sighed.

"Do you still want to ask me to have an arranged meeting with your sister?" Gunter asked him.

"Well, yes...," Densham answered and nodded slowly.

"In that case I shall refuse. I don't want to deal with your sister's invention. I'm not the type that will do anything just for a woman," Gunter told him.

"Ah! Is it only Gwendal who is willing to go out with her?" he grumbled.

Gunter laughed at him. "I think, yes. He's a dumb one and hard headed too. So, the only one who'll want to be with your sister is only him," Gunter said, he tried to convince Densham about it, so he wouldn't have to be with the normal Anissina.

Suddenly, something came into Densham's mind, "Aha!" he said suddenly and tapped his thigh hard. His eyes were opened wide and his mouth formed a devilish smile. Gunter gulped. It looked like Densham had another silly plan for him and Anissina. Maybe, Densham just annoyed because his sister was dumped by Gwendal, so he really didn't want Gwendal to be with his sister ever again. But, why did it have to be him to substitute Gwendal?

"Lord von Kleist," Densham said suddenly. "How about you help me to get Gwendal back?"

_'He wanted Gwendal back', Gunter thought. 'Phew... Great, he didn't hate Gwendal, I'll be free from Anissina!'_

So, Gunter smiled and answered, "Sure, I'll help you."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Hurray!!! Finished! **

**I really like this chapter because Anissina is back to her old self. Actually, I really hate when she sat near the window and looking through it all day long. It's not Anissina at all. But, of course she didn't only think about Gwendal all day- though mostly she thought of him... Anissina is not that silly... LOL... She thought of herself and her women movement as well... **

**About Anissina's sudden change, I'll explain more in the next chapter...**

**Reviews are very welcome and appreciated...**

**Thanks for reading!!**

**Please wait for the next chapter!**

**-Pheria-**


	9. Chapter 9 : An Unexpected Lesson

**It's been a very long time since the last time I updated this fic. Well, I forgot my password and couldn't enter the site, but after a few times trying, finally, I could log in to my account. Unfortunately, all my documents that were half edited that time vanished... NOOOO! Okay, now let's just begin the story :D**

**Oh yeah, sorry for the grammatical mistake you'll meet throughout this story since I'm not a native. I'll try my best with English though...**

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* * *

**"I got another letter from him" Gunter said as he entered Anissina's room. Anissina quickly turned her head to him.

"What does he said?" she asked impatiently.

Gunter read the letter for her.

"He'll be back soon," she said. "Maybe, I should go back to the Blood Pledge Castle."

"I shall come with you," Gunter said.

* * *

That evening, both Gunter and Anissina were getting ready for their journey to the Blood Pledge Castle. Gunter was ready to execute his plan- Densham's plan- to reunite Anissina and Gwendal. The execution began that evening, maybe before supper, Gunter thought. Densham would agree on any methods Gunter used as long as he could do it right.

Gunter knocked on Anissina's door.

"Enter," she said. Gunter entered the room.

"Anissina, I got a few things to talk to you," he said with his serious expression.

"What is it?" Anissina asked him and she questioned his seriousness towards this thing he wanted to talk about.

"It's... Can you, if Gwendal didn't want you, would you marry me?" Gunter said. _'No way, this is too embarassing! I shouldn't go with that silly Densham's plan!,' he thought._

Anissina looked surprised, she never thought that Gunter would say that to her. But, she smiled. "Okay, maybe I should've just become your wife. You'll let me continue with my experiments and my emancipation movements right?"

He could only nod.

"Then, if Gwendal didn't want me, you can have me... Yeah, that's a good idea," she said. But, Gunter saw a tiny bit of sorrow in her face that she was trying to hide.

"It will be alright," he said. Anissina thought his respond was so weird. _'What will be alright?' she thought._

Gunter didn't stay for long time in there, he went out and on his way back to his room, he could only think that maybe this was his biggest mistake. He just proposed to his best friend's lover!

* * *

After Gunter left her, Anissina could only regret her decision. How could she be that stupid? What if Gwendal thought of proposing to her when he got home.

"It's not officially announced yet, I can change it!" she murmured and ran out of her room. She tried to catch up with Gunter. She looked for him everywhere. In the garden, Gunter's room, dining room, living room, and finally she went to her brother room.

In front of her brother room, she could only think of the worst possibility awaited her. She hold her breath and opened the door.

The next second, Anissina found her brother hugging her, "Congratulations! Finally my dear sister, you're going to marry someone!"

"No!" she shouted at her brother ear and pushed him away from her. "I'm just kidding with Gunter, okay. Of course, I can't marry him, not him."

"Not him, brother!" she looked at her brother eyes deeply.

"Okay, okay... I'm out of this!" Gunter said. "Listen Anissina, we're just trying to get Gwendal back for you!"

Anissina looked at Gunter, she seemed surprised.

"Not me, your brother made this plan. He wanted Gwendal to get jealous and marry you immediately," Gunter told her.

"Gunter, you're not fun at all. You messed up the plan!" Densham shouted at him, and he look at his sister. "Sister, as you know, I'm just trying to help you. Don't be mad, okay?"

Densham got a goosebump just looking at her sister. He knew what her fiery eyes meant. She won't forgive him.

"Brother, I think you overdid the plan. Let me make a new plan for you," she said with her wicked smile.

* * *

Anissina, Densham, and Gunter began their journey to the Blood Pledge Castle. Gunter and Densham were in the first carriage, and Anissina alone in the second carriage. They weren't in a carriage because Densham and Gunter knew what would happen to them if they dared to stick along with Anissina. They got to be as patient as Gwendal, or at least as strong as Gwendal to deceive death. Both of them knew Anissina rarely made her things work out right.

Anissina didn't feel lonely thought she was alone in the carriage. She didn't want to get into her brother's play. It's silly. But, she had to say that her brother was right. She was madly in love with Gwendal to forget him, even though he dumped her. She understood how silly Gwendal could be sometimes. That's why she still got hope. But, if Gwendal still didn't want her, maybe they could be good friends, or maybe best friends. But, really she actually hated only to be his friend...

* * *

Gwendal arrived in the castle a day after Anissina arrived. When she heard that he was back, she ran outside the castle, so that she could see him. The gate was opened. Gwendal was there, in front of her, still on his horse.

"Anissina," he murmured, but she could hear it well.

"Gwendal," she spoke his name gently. "Welcome home."

He nodded and said, "I'm home. Thanks for coming here."

"No problem," she said. "Hey, I got something for you. I'll get it for you!"

"Wait!" Gwendal said. She was already on her way, she didn't even care to look at him.

But, Gwendal believed that he saw them, her tears she tried to hide.

* * *

Anissina was not sad. She did let her tears wet her eyes, but she was not sad. She was happy and a bit angry. She was happy because he was back and a bit angry because of what Gwendal had done to her back then. Then, she heard a knock on her door.

"No need to open, just listen," the voice was Gwendal's. She listened.

"Anissina, you know, we still have this feelings in us," he said. Anissina smiled and thought they'd be together soon. "But, I think, we should stay as friends, until each of us ready to sacrifice other things which important to us."

Anissina was shocked. "Listen. I won't cry for you ever again," she went to open her door. After she saw him deeply in his eyes, she slammed the door. That time, Anissina learnt that men were nothing, they were not even worth her tears, they were so selfish that they never cared for others. Anissina cried that night, but never cried again after that day.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Well, actually this chapter is made to change Anissina's character to match the anime, because she wasn't like Anissina at all in this fic, so I changed her with this chapter. Actually I hate Anissina when I need to make her cry, that's why I'm a bit happy when she finally able to reach the stage when she changed into Anissina who is very strong, confident, and funny. Let's see her in the next chapter, how she changes so quickly. **

**I want to make Gwendal jealous at first with the plan Densham made. But, I think, Gunter would hate it if he had to deal with Gwendal. They're friends, and I think if I changed them into rival, it would made the story different. So I stopped it, and made Anissina forgot about Gunter and Densham.**

**Okay, that's it. Reviews are welcomed. Well, actually I need it. Your reviews keep me on writing and made me happy. And, the grammatical mistakes or the vocabulary, tell me if I made mistakes, especially if they are fatal. I'd try to learn English from that.**

**Alright, see you on the next chapter... keep reading! :D**

**~ Pheria ~**


	10. Chapter 10 : From Lovers to Friends

**Chapter 10 after a long break.**

**I don't plan to end this fic yet. Yeah, they still got more things to go through and Yuuri haven't come yet. Well, now I'm sure that they still need more time before Yuuri finally enters the scene. **

**Okay then, let's start this chapter!**

* * *

Anissina wiped her sweat. That summer was the hottest summer she had ever felt. The sun shone all the day, even when it was 10 p.m., the sky was still blue. But, she still thanked the sun for shining all day long, because from that, she got an idea to make several machines using the solar energy and she could test them right away after she finished making them.

"Time to call Gwendal", she muttered to herself and smiled.

Anissina went out of her laboratory, she went to the castle's office immediately, knowing that Gwendal usually sat there all day long. She quickened her pace because she was too impatient to test her new machines and giggles escaped her mouth all the way to the office. She entered the office and slammed the door behind her.

"Hey, Gwendal. I want you to try my new inventions", she said cheerfully and walked closer towards his desk.

_'Inventions? That 's' means there's more than one to try', he thought._ Gwenal looked at her eyes and after a second of silence, he replied, "No".

"Oh, please. It's going to be the greatest things that the people of Shin Makoku ever know of!" she told him with a higher tone.

"You want me to try those things? What if I run out of maryoku because of them? Because you never success, you always fail!" he argued.

"That's not true!" she shouted and pounded the table with her palms. "I'm the one who made the coffee-maker-kun! You like it so much that everyday you drink coffee that the thing made!"

"Yes, I admit that you are successful in making that thing and a few others. But mostly, you fail and you often drag me closer to death!" he shouted back at her.

"I don't want to know about that! I'm not asking you again!" she shouted at him very loudly and turned away from him. She quickly went out of the office and for the second time, slammed the door behind her, but this time the sound was much more louder than the first.

* * *

Gwendal sighed deeply after she left the room.

He tried not to mind her because she was always like that, but nonetheless, he still did. She was his friend, and once his lover, of course he wouldn't be able to think of her as a complete stranger . She was never a stranger to him and he learned the hard way that he was still in love with her. Anyway, he thought that he was too hard on her earlier. A part of him wanted him to apologize to her and helped her with her research, and the other wanted him to stay away from her.

Gwendal tried to diverted his thought, he tried to carefully read the paper he wanted to sign, but he couldn't do that. He was still thinking of her. He sighed again and took his knitting tools from the drawer and started to continue his half finished teddy bear. The knitting yarn became twisted and the more he tried to fix it up the more twisted it became. He put away his knitting tools, knowing that knitting wouldn't help him. He stood up from his seat and went out his office to look for Anissina.

* * *

Gwendal was going to knock at her laboratory when she heard her speaking. He decided to listen at what she was saying.

"Now, I have to do this alone", she said. "Gwendal doesn't want to help me. Well, he was right when he said that. I always fail. Maybe, those which I have successfully invented, they are just coincidence".

Gwendal cleared his throat. He wanted to know to whom she was talking to. So he stayed there and listened again.

"Maybe, I should stop. I should become a normal noble lady. Going to balls everyday, buying some silk dresses, getting married...", she said. Gwendal's heart stopped when he heard _'Getting married'_. Then, she continued, "Yeah, that won't be so bad. Maybe, I'll get a son or a daughter... No, maybe not. I'll get several sons and several daughters. My house will be full of children. That's nice, right?"

No one answered her.

"Why are there no marriage proposals when I want them so badly!" she grumbled.

Gwendal decided that it was the time to knock at the door.

"Who's that?" she asked from the inside of the room.

"It's me", he said with his usual cold voice.

"Ah, Gwendal", she said as she walked towards the door to unlock it. She looked at him and said, "Have you changed your mind?"

"No, not yet", he replied.

"So, what do you want now?" she asked, from her voice he knew that she was still angry about the thing earlier. "You still want mock my failures?"

"I'm here to apologized", he said. "I'm being rude to you earlier. You're not that bad. You just lack of experience".

She looked at him, her face looked surprised and it was very obvious that she questioned his sincerity when he said that.

"I really mean it. I really think that you're great. You are the number one scientist in the whole world. I think no one rivals you. You're obviously a real genius", Gwendal said. When he realized what he had just said, he blushed. "That's all I want to tell you".

She let her lips curved into a beautiful smile. It had been such a long time since he saw that smile. The smiles she was giving him after the break up were not like this one smile. Then, a surge of happiness came inside him, but he tried to hide it and covered it with wrinkles on his forehead. Gwendal looked at her for a while. Suddenly, Anissina gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"What did you just do!" he asked her. His face turned to red.

"Bye!" she said and closed her door. Gwendal was surprised with her response, but after that he went back to his office.

* * *

Anissina couldn't believe what she had just done to him. She was happy that finally she was able to be close to him. A kiss on his cheek was not bad at all, though it wasn't as romantic as a kiss on his lips. But, it was better than nothing at all. After all, she was just playing with him. It was nothing serious to her. She was just teasing him because he was so serious. Yeah, that was because he was so serious. Anissina smiled weakly. Uncertain of the reasons she gave to herself for kissing him.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, trying to forget the kiss. She went back to finish her job as she tried to divert her own thoughts and then the sound of hammer pounding was heard all over the castle.

* * *

_'To who was she talking when she was inside?' Gwendal thought as he remembered what Anissina said inside her laboratory._ The thought of Anissina forgetting her inventions seemed unimaginable for him. She was always so proud of her job as an inventor, what would be left in her if she wasn't an inventor anymore?

He hated that she used his life as a game when she tried to invent something, but he liked the passion she had for her job. He always loved to see her happy face when she finally finished making her machines, though she failed many times. But, wasn't that the way of inventing things? An inventor had to be faced with unsolved problems so that they would found things that would solve the problems. Wasn't that the way it worked?

Gwendal was tired. He put his head on the table and closed his eyes for a while. He fell asleep not long after that.

* * *

Gwendal yawned. He opened his eyes lazily, wondering how long he had been asleep and then decided to go back to his room. When he was closing the door behind him, Anissina passed him by. She looked at him for a while and decided to have a chat with him.

"Have you finished your work?" she asked and both of them walked together along the alley.

"Not yet", he said.

"But, you've been working all day", she said. Gwendal realized that she was concern about him and she had really forgotten about their fight in the afternoon.

"That's not true", he told her. "I fell asleep. I didn't sign any paper at all".

"Well, that's unusual for you", she said with her index finger under her chin.

"Unusual, huh?" he repeated.

"But, that definitely means you need to rest", she said and smiled gently at him. He didn't answer and she continued, "Um, by the way, thanks for saying that I'm the best inventor in the whole world. It kinda made me happy".

"Well, you should not thank me. That's the truth anyway. And I just want you to realize that", he said.

"Anyway, thanks", she said. Before the both of them realized, they were in front of Anissina's room. So she said good night to him and entered her room. After Anissina left him, Gwendal walked alone to his own room, still wondering to who Anissina was talking when she was inside her laboratory, but he never got a chance to ask her the question.

* * *

**TBC**

**

* * *

**

**Well, this chapter is for the transition of the status(from lovers to friends). **

**Since they are not lovers anymore, they start to keep more secrets, but still want to know about each other. Yet, those curiosities won't be directly said because they're just friends. **

**I change my mind... next chapter is about Yuuri's coming to the Shin Makoku! :D**

**Thanks for reading!**

**I appreciate reviews greatly, give me some if you feel like you want to! :D**

**See you on the next chapter!**

**~Pheria~**


	11. Chapter 11 : Fever and the King

**Yippie! This time the update is so quick. Well, I'm really in the mood to write stories!**

**Oh well, let's just continue this story!**

* * *

"I feel a bit dizzy," Gwendal muttered softly. He closed his eyes for a moment while massaging his head.

"Did you just say something, Gwendal?" Gunter asked him.

"Nothing," he said and continued his work.

"You should be ready to meet our new king," Gunter said and smiled cheerfully. "He would be here very soon."

Gwendal sighed. "I don't want a half human king."

"Shin-Ou is the one who can decide about this, Gwendal," Gunter remarked.

Gwendal looked at Gunter for a while with threatening eyes and then reverted to his work.

* * *

It was already midday when the maids called for him to have lunch. Because all of the people in the castle wanted to talk about the new king's welcoming party, the lunch was felt like a meeting for Gwendal. He didn't have any interests in this matter. He didn't care about that half human king. _'Why should I, a mighty and noble Mazoku, welcome a half human king?'_

Gwendal felt his head getting hotter and hotter. He thought that it was because he was angry at Shin-Ou, who chose a half human to be the king of the Mazoku tribe. But, he felt that it was not because of that. He was not that angry anyway. He _really _ was sick.

Gwendal rose from his seat. He excused himself in front of the others in the dining hall. The others looked at him while he was making his way out of the hall. Something was definitely wrong with him.

"Are you okay, Gwendal?" Anissina asked him, she was by his side, supporting him so he didn't fall.

"I'm okay," he replied. "Just a fever and it's nothing to be worried about."

She frowned. Anissina put her palm on his forehead. "You're crazy to say that it's nothing to be worried about. Let's go! I'm going to fix you!"

Anissina opened the door and pulled him along with her. As they went out of the hall, the others continued their discussion about the king's welcoming party.

* * *

Gwendal changed his clothes while Anissina was going to her laboratory to search for some medicines for him. He lied in his bed, waiting for her. Just like the old days, when he was sick, she always be the one who took care of him until he became healthy again. Though he was glad that she still cared for him, it made him a bit depressed when he realized that she cared for him because he was her friend. Yes, they were just friends.

Suddenly, the door was opened. Gwendal was a bit surprised by it, but regained his usual calmness soon enough. Anissina walked towards him. She brought a big bowl of water and some medications with her.

"Gwendal, drink this," she said and handed him the medications and she poured a glass of water for him.

"You can leave me now," he said.

"Not yet," she said.

"Join the others to arrange the welcoming party," he told her, it was likely an order.

"Don't order me around. I'm going to stay here until you're okay," she said.

Gwendal was silent for a moment, and then he said, "Do as you wish. I'm going to sleep."

"That's good. I don't need to force you to sleep."

* * *

Anissina sat on a chair next to Gwendal's bed. She wetted the towel with cold water and put it on Gwendal's forehead, which woke him up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," she said. He didn't say anything and closed his eyes once again.

She looked at him and tried to find which part of him had changed. Long ago, she would stay by his side all day long. She knew everything about him. Maybe not everything, but almost everything. But now, they were just friends.

She never regretted her decision. It was for the best.

Gwendal was asleep. He snored softly and Anissina chuckled a bit. _'He didn't change_,' she thought.

She cupped his right cheek.

"Why do you always have to frown?" she asked him.

* * *

Anissina didn't realize that she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, she found that Gwendal was still sleeping peacefully and he talked in his sleep.

"Na...," he said.

"Huh?"

"Eh...," he said again.

"What do you want to say Gwendal?" she asked him. She could make this moment her secret weapon. Of course, Gwendal wouldn't want what he said in his sleep be known by the whole castle, and so, he would be happy to help her in her experiment.

"Don't... go," Gwendal said.

"You mean, me? You don't want me to go?" Anissina asked him.

"Ani...ssi...na, stay," Gwendal said.

"I told you, I'll stay here until you're okay," she told him. He didn't make a sound anymore and snored again.

She shook her head.

* * *

The morning had come. Anissina woke up, Gwendal was still in his bed. She put her palm on his forehead and smiled. He was getting better though he's not completely healed yet.

Suddenly, he yawned.

"That's surprised me," she muttered.

He looked around him. His eyelids still half opened. "Why are you here, Anissina?" he asked her.

"You forgot? I'm taking care of you because you have a fever, dummy!" she exclaimed.

"Is that so?" he asked her.

"Why are you always have to be so stupid in the morning?" she asked him. "Oh, I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday... I'm hungry."

He got up and went to his closet to change his clothes.

"Let's eat, I'm hungry, too," he said.

"You're not allowed to leave your bed and get sick again," she told him. "I have spent my yesterday just for taking care of you. So, don't you dare to make me spent my time today."

"Why don't you ask Gisela to take care of me?" he asked calmly while washing his face.

"That's because...," Anissina couldn't find the reason why she stayed there. "Ah, Gisela was out."

"I see," he responded quickly. "Let's have a breakfast."

* * *

In the dining-hall, there was no one else except the two. Anissina and Gwendal were both hungry and they ate as much as they could. The two of them enjoyed the food so much that they didn't talk to each other in the dining hall.

When they were finished, Gwendal excused himself to go to his office. But, Anissina frowned and didn't let him go.

"No, you shouldn't start working," she said. "Today's the king's welcoming party. You should take a rest and not working, understand?"

"What? His coming is not that important. The king is the one who made me do all those paperworks. I do my part and his part, that's why I'm busy Anissina. I must finish all of those things today," he argued. "If you want me to stop working, ask the king to do his own job."

"I don't care about that!" she exclaimed. "Listen, if you don't want to obey me, I'll have to tell the whole castle what you said in your sleep last night."

"You! That's dirty," he groaned.

She smirked devilishly. She had won.

* * *

"Gwendal! Don't you dare ignoring me!" Anissina shouted loudly.

He turned his head away from her.

"Is working that important to you?" she asked him with her high toned voice.

He didn't answer her. Then, there was silence.

She diverted her eyes from him and he still turned his head away from her. There was no sound except the sound of birds chirping. Suddenly, the sound of the trumpets broke the silence.

"The 27th king of Shin Makoku, Your Highness Shibuya Yuuri, has arrived! Hail to our new king!" a soldier said. Gwendal ran out of the room, leaving Anissina who still sat in her seat. She didn't welcome the king, she looked at the new king from the window of the room.

"What a cute king!" she remarked and smiled.

"I hope you can bring good things in this place, boy," she muttered softly, still smiling, and put her chin on her right hand palm.

* * *

Gwendal quickly ran to the castle's front gate. He was so eager to get the king to work on the job. Yes, that day would be the last day he did all the job by himself. That was what he thought.

When he arrived there, Wolfram was already there. Wolfram was so arrogant because the king was just a half demon, Gwendal, too, wanted to do as he wished just like Wolfram. But, no. He couldn't show all those people that he judged the king just by appearance, it wouldn't look so wise. So, he told himself to just be strict, like what he usually did.

The king was so young, as old as Wolfram, Gwendal thought. Though Gwendal tried hard not to admit it, the young king looked so... silly? Yes, silly. Not charismatic at all. Gwendal couldn't see why Shin-Ou chose him to be the king of Shin-Makoku. This was the first time he doubted Shin-Ou.

"Is he really our king, Conrad?" Gwendal asked.

"Yes, Gwendal", Conrad replied with no hesitation.

Gwendal looked at the young king, who was trying to get off the horse, and thought, _'Let's see what you can do, Your Highness.'_

_

* * *

_**TBC**

**

* * *

**

**Well, this is the end of this chapter. This chapter was so hard to finish, because I got so many things to do, and I had to steal times to finish it. Not much of a progress of the relationship, you can skip this chapter if you want. I wrote this chapter just because I wanted to arrange the timeline.**

**Well, the way Yuuri came was not exactly like this. I didn't really remember how, and so I decided to make it my own. Oh yeah, about the fever, well, I just wanted to test how strong their pride were... :P I thought I could make them be together again, but it's just so hard to do that because of their characters and the real storyline wasn't like that. **

**That's it. Okay, thanks so much for reading, guys! Love you so much.**

**And if you want to give your comments or maybe ideas or critiques. I will appreciate them so much.**

**Bye**

**~Pheria~**


	12. Chapter 12 : Pride

**Sorry for the long wait guys, I was just having a block for a very long time. And I'm really really sorry about that. I'm going to continue now... ^.^**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The welcoming party was great. It was so luxurious and Gwendal had no doubt that the kingdom had spent so much money just for the party. He couldn't believe how easy those nobles let go of the money which was earned by the citizens. That was one of the reason he didn't really enjoy the party. It wasted money and made the tax so high.

Gwendal asked for a glass of wine from one of the maid and sat down on the empty seat. He sipped the wine and enjoyed its taste. He always loved the wine despite his dislike for the party. When a party was held, the kingdom always served the best wine. That was the only thing he loved in a ball or any party. He watched so many people dancing, talking, and laughing in the hall. It seemed like the only person who was bored with those party was only him. Then, he let out a sigh.

"Are you still sick, Gwendal?" a very familiar voice asked him.

"Anissina," he said and turned his eyes to her. "No, it's not that. I'm just sick of all these parties."

"But, you love the wine," she said.

"Yeah, only that," he responded.

"Can I sit next to you?" she asked.

"Go ahead," he said.

The two didn't talk. Anissina sipped her own drink and gave him a smile. It was like she was waiting, but he didn't know who she was waiting for. If he could ask her, that would be a relief, but since they cut off their tie, he always thought that he had no reasons to know more about her.

The people continued to dance as the orchestra kept on playing the songs tirelessly. Gwendal caught a sight of the new king. He looked clumsy and he laughed like he was a fool. What a destiny he had! He, Gwendal von Voltaire, had to follow orders from a king who looked like a fool. Shin'Ou had to be wrong to make someone like that his king. Gwendal blinked his eyes.

"Huh," he muttered.

"What?" Anissina who was still next to him asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Oh yeah, Gwendal, have you talked to the king?" she asked and smiled cheerfully. "He looks so cute, don't you think so?"

"No, I haven't. I don't think he's that cute," he said. "Wolfram is a lot cuter than he is."

"What about me, Aniue?" Wolfram suddenly snapped.

Gwendal looked at Wolfram behind him. "I told Anissina that you look better than that king."

"Of course! I'm a noble Mazoku. My blood is pure, not like him. He's like Conrad. Half human, half Mazoku," Wolfram said arrogantly. Both Anissina and Gwendal looked at each other. The two had guessed that Wolfram would say that for sure.

"Yeah, yeah," Anissina said. "You can say what you want to say, Wolfram. But, somehow I feel like you want to say something about that king. You like him, don't you?"

Anissina giggled. Gwendal knew that she was teasing his brother and he looked at Anissina, letting her continue with her teasing.

"No, of course not," Wolfram denied. "Why should I like that kind of guy?"

"He's your type!" Anissina's giggle became a laughter. "Admit it."

The blond Mazoku's face became redder as he stomped his feet and tried to deny what the red-haired woman said. Wolfram frowned and said, "No! You get it wrong, very wrong, Anissina. I don't want to talk to you." Wolfram turned away from her and went into the crowds still with frown in his face.

"You'll have wrinkles in your forehead like Gwendal if you keep frowning, Wolfram!" she shouted to him and chuckled as Wolfram vanished into the crowds. Anissina turned to Gwendal, "Your youngest brother is always so childish. I like him so much."

"He's selfish and childish, because Conrad, Hahaue, and I always love her so much," he told her.

"I remembered helping you knit dolls for him," she said as she looked at the people dancing through the hall.

He nodded. "It was a long time ago," he said. "I wonder if Wolfram still wants you to be his sister. He told me that once."

"Really?" she asked curiously, turning to him. He nodded and gave her a smile.

"And not long after that, he wanted you to be his bride," Gwendal continued. "And I told him to ask you directly, but it seemed that he didn't do that."

Anissina chuckled. "Oh, I never knew that I was an idol in his eyes. Thanks for telling me that, I wonder what he'll say to me if I tell him about that."

"You're teasing him too much," he told her. "He'll always be a brat if you do that."

"Don't worry, I won't overdo it," she said.

Anissina and Gwendal chuckled. Wolfram had always been their topic because of his bratty actions. Sometimes Wolfram could be a really nice brother, but in another time he became so annoying. Anissina loved to tease Wolfram a lot, while Gwendal always looked after Wolfram in everything he did. Wolfram was stubborn and his actions were too harsh that his brothers needed to watch over him in every important decision he would make. Gwendal and Conrad knew that they had to let Wolfram decide for himself what he wanted to do and responsible for it. But, the brat was too arrogant to acknowledge his own fault whenever he did mistakes.

Then, there was another silence between Gwendal and Anissina. They didn't find any topics to talk about and Gwendal was not the talkative type. Anissina looked at the crowds, something was... something not very interesting was caught by her eyes. When she saw the red head, she knew it.

She put her right hand palm on her forehead. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "Um, Gwendal, I'm going. If anyone ever asks about me, say you know nothing."

He nodded. Anissina quickly went away and Gwendal tried to find the source of her anxiousness. He looked around him to find something wrong and suspicious. _'But, there was nothing wrong,' he thought, 'the guests were all nobles, and... that red head... I see..' _

Gwendal was still sitting there, he didn't care about her brother. But, he knew that if her brother saw her not dancing in a party like this one, he would definitely drag her to the dancing floor and dance with her sister. Gwendal shook his head. Her brother loved her so much, which was the cause he hated Gwendal so much since the day he broke up with Anissina. Gunter told him once that Anissina didn't talk for months because of the break up, but now, she talked to him like nothing happened. No one knew what was inside her heart, including him. He didn't need to know about her, they were just friends, nothing more.

When Densham -her brother- walked past him, he turned his head away. He knew it, Densham was still angry at him for breaking up with his sister. Gwendal didn't care about that either. He wouldn't beg her brother to forgive him. That would only bring shame to him, for he was one of the original nobles. Anissina's family was just a successful merchant's family. They were new to the nobility. But, his family had been a noble since the day Shin'Ou defeated Soushu. He had his own pride.

* * *

Gwendal walked to the balcony. He was tired of seeing people dancing in the hall. It was too crowded and too noisy. He had been bearing those thoughts in his head since he entered the hall. Finally, he gave up and decided to go to the balcony.

When he arrived at the balcony, it was no different than the hall, crowded and noisy. He just wished to find a quiet place, and decided it would be best to excuse himself from the party. He went to his mother and then to the new king just to excuse himself, telling them he was still feeling unwell -yeah, he was sick not long ago, right?-, they just nodded and then he got out of the hall.

He took a deep breath once he walked past the door of the hall. The sound of the night was playing in his ears. It was better than the orchestra inside. The wind gently caressed him and sent a shiver throughout his body. He was walking past the garden when he found Anissina on a bench. _'Sleeping? he thought. He walked closer towards her and smelled the alcohol from her body. 'She is drunk.'_

"Anissina," he called her as he tried to wake her up. "Anissina, don't sleep here."

She groaned.

"Anissina," he called her again as he shook her body again and again. "Wake up, this is so unladylike behavior of yours."

She snored.

"No way," he said. "She just goes to sleep. Competely ignoring me!"

He sighed. "No other choice. I'll have to carry her." Gwendal lifted her up. He carried her in his arms and went to the other side of the castle. The soldiers he met on his way there were looking at him in surprise, maybe they thought of themselves to be really lucky to see their commander at least still had a heart though he was strict and all. It was such a rare sight to see him caring for family or friends. All of his soldiers only knew that he was merciless to his enemy, strict and discipline to all soldiers, and cold to his friends and family. They never knew he had such a good and soft side in him. He was a lion which never showed its weakness to anyone.

Gwendal opened the door to Anissina's room. He put her on her bed and covered her with a blanket. She snored softly and sometimes muttered something, but he could not hear it. Gwendal sighed and looked at her sleeping face. It had been such a long time since he saw her sleeping face. Her eyes which were supposed to be bright blue was shut tightly and her lips slightly apart. It brought a feeling of joy to him when he finally saw her so natural again, not with her fake smiles.

He brought his face closer to her, his lips was just a few inches from her. After thinking that she would know nothing of it, he kissed her lips. His left hand cupped her right cheek. After a long time he finally tasted her sweet lips. The smell of alcohol didn't bother him at all. The kiss was not long, it just lasted for a few seconds. He lifted his own face and saw her with a sad expression.

Gwendal quickly left the room with many things going inside his head. He didn't know that she was conscious and tears falling from her eyes.

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**TBC**

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**I think this is the best chapter in this fic. Well, I just love it. When I read it again and again, I find it fun. I hope you guys like this one too. **

**Sorry for being really late. I will try to update faster. But, now I have several stories to update, so I must work hard ^.^**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated, guys!**

**See you in the next chapter!**

**~Pheria~**


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